Courtenay mixed martial artist (MMA) Joshua Beaudoin, 20, is gearing up for his second amateur MMA fight.
Off to a promising start after a victorious debut in the amateur fighting world in April 2023, Beaudoin has his eyes set on his upcoming fight scheduled for this Friday (May 3) at the Fraserview Banquet Hall in Vancouver.
As a Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, Beaudoin shared his strategy against opponent Deonte Hurtado, a skilled Muay Thai striker.
“I think I’m gonna test my hands for a little bit,” Beaudoin said. “In my last fight, I just wrestled right away so I want to test and see if I can compete with him and with the hands. If anything goes wrong, I’m just going to take him down and choke him out.”
Describing himself as a “pressure fighter,” Beaudoin plans to keep relentless forward pressure on his opponent throughout the match.
To ensure he was ready for this fight, Beaudoin focused extensively on his cardio to offer his best possible performance.
“I’ve been putting in a lot of cardio work since my last fight because I felt like that’s what I had to work on most,” said Beaudoin. “I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life right now and I’m really ready to go. I feel really confident.”
A practitioner of taekwondo since childhood, Beaudoin found purpose in MMA a few years ago.
“I was just having a rough time in school and I needed to focus my energy on something more positive. I was getting kicked out of school a lot and I just wasn’t very good,” said Beaudoin. “I started (MMA) and just became very passionate about it and now I love it.”
When asked about his future goals, Beaudoin has ambitious dreams.
“I just quit my job, and after this next fight, I will be moving to Kelowna where I’m going to be training full-time,” the young man said. “My ultimate goal is to fight in the UFC, but if I could just make it to any bigger league and get a little more exposure, that would be nice too.
“For now, I’m just trying to work on my amateur career and hopefully get an amateur belt (soon.)”
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