Ryan Jimmo: MFC Star Sits Down to Discuss All-Things Canadian MMA

One of the nation’s most promising mixed martial arts competitors, Ryan "Big Deal" Jimmo, is already a household name to the majority of “hard-core” Canadian mixed martial arts fans.

Undefeated in 13 bouts since dropping his mixed martial arts debut to current Canadian Football League star Adam Braidwood, Jimmo is one of the Maximum Fighting Championship’s brightest stars. At the tender age of 28, shows no signs of slowing down.

Recently the Saint John, New Brunswick, native sat down for an exclusive interview regarding all-things Canadian mixed martial arts.

Currently, Canada is represented well by many elite athletes in mixed martial arts, but in the early days of the sport, Canadian competitors were few and far between. In the beginning stages of your career, did you look up to any Canadian fighters as inspiration?

I think GSP has to be at the front of everyone’s mind due to his athletic ability, technical excellence in all areas, as well as his respectable personality.

I’ve always been a big fan of Randy Couture because of his excellent gameplans, as well as Anderson Silva due to his precision. And not to mention Lyoto Machida, because of his timing in karate.

Aside from the sports' incredible surge in popularity over the course of the past few years, how different is it for young Canadian mixed martial artists trying to make a name for themselves today than it was for you when you began training years ago?

I took a different road than I think most young mixed martial arts hopefuls are travelling nowadays.

I started in karate and focused on that for 13-14 years before I really even became interested in mixed martial arts. I know a lot of young fighters start training in all of the arts right away.

The perception of the public is that the mixed martial arts star is really a rock star, and unfortunately a lot of young fighters are jumping into the deep end of the pool, hoping they’re the next big thing.

I find that there’s a psychological “sickness,” so to speak, in today’s mixed martial arts world. Everyone wants to be a champion today, but they don’t realize that success quickly gained is also quickly lost.

So to answer your question in a nutshell, I believe there are more opportunities to become a mixed martial arts fighter, but the psychological health of younger fighters is at a greater risk to those abundant opportunities.

With Georges St. Pierre currently ruling the UFC’s welterweight division, in conjunction with a number of other prominent fighters competing under the UFC banner, and countless other young competitors fighting both in North America and abroad, how do you feel about the current state of Canadian mixed martial arts?

I think that the current state of Canadian mixed martial arts is growing nicely.

There is lots of passion and want by the Canadian public, so the sport does and will continue to grow at the appropriate rate.

Despite reports to the contrary, professionally-sanctioned mixed martial arts has proven to be one of the safest sports in the world, while also consistently proving financially beneficial across every province that sanctions mixed martial arts professionally. Do you think that it is just a matter of time until the sport is legalized across Canada?

To make a contradictory comment, I do believe the Canadian Medical Association trying to make a ban is due to two factors that could make mixed martial arts in Canada a hard product to grow.

First, Canada tends to sit on the conservative side of the fence when it comes from a political stance. We’re ruled by an older generation with strong religious ties, which could make a new extreme sport, regardless of how safe it is, hard to push on their agendas.

Second, Canada is known and respected for having a high standard of living for all of its citizens across the board, and I don’t think Canadians value commerce as much as our American counterpart to the south. Therefore, the money-making ability of mixed martial arts will fall on the deaf ears of many Canadians, especially those in a conservative political government.

Recently, the British Columbia Medical Association declared their intention to pursue banning professional mixed martial arts across Canada, citing the occurrences of “broken limbs, lacerations and brain damage” as potential afflictions to participants of the sport.

How do you feel about the intentions of the B.C. Medical Association? Do you feel their cause has merit?

I don’t feel the British Columbia Medical Association’s argument has much warrant. I believe my previous answering of questions deals with this issue, and one can draw conclusions why I would have such a stance.

Given the incredible amount of enthusiastic fans across the country and the fact that the sport is only gaining in popularity, do you think in the future Canada could displace America, Brazil and Japan as the top mixed martial arts country in the world?

I believe the current state of mixed martial arts in Canada is appropriate considering all of the factors and variables that go into it; promotions, skilled instructors, public and political thought processes. In order for Canada to vault past those countries, there are many variables and constants that would have to shift.

I believe, within the next 20 years, when the newer generation takes control of our country, we could see a surge, due to a shift in thought process.

GSP is a great start, but we need more Canadian mixed martial arts stars. That requires more support from our public, I believe a brighter financial situation for fighters, as well as just time to let the seeds of excellence that are being planted now, grow and develop, just to name a few.

Few would argue that there is a more prominent figure in Canadian mixed martial arts than Georges St. Pierre at this point in time, but who do you think is the next great Canadian mixed martial artist? Why do you think this is the case?

The next great Canadian fighter?

That’s easy... me. I’m still grasping in the dark about what I do in the ring.

I still only see two moves ahead when I’m fighting. Soon, I will eventually see six or seven moves ahead, and then nine to 10 moves ahead.

Fighting is a chess game to me, and I will out-think all of my opponents.

If I come off as cocky, it isn’t my intention; I just have a lot of faith in myself.

Canada is blessed to be represented by not only a number of very talented fighters, but the majority of these athletes are also terrific sportsmen who serve as exquisite role models for young people everywhere.

How do you feel about the way Canada is represented by our mixed martial artists? Do you think it is important to represent your nation well when you perform at an international level?

I think how we represent ourselves in a sport that has such a violent nature is even more important than other sports.

People still view us as barbarians, and it is up to us athletes as a whole to be upstanding diplomats and representatives of our sport.