Cody Chovancek says he is set to make his long-awaited UFC debut, a milestone that comes after more than a decade of building his path through combat sports.
The Canadian MMA prospect's road to the UFC has included wrestling, kickboxing, amateur MMA and a stint training in Thailand. Along the way, he also leaned on a lifelong passion that has stayed with him from childhood: fishing.
Fishing, fighting and the road to the UFC
As a kid in Petrolia, Ont., Chovancek spent hours at a time fishing by the water while his mom was at work. He said that became a defining part of who he is, alongside the fighting career he was already starting to build.
"I'm obsessed with fishing. I do it all the time, and I've been doing it my whole life," Chovancek said.
He said there was not much else to do growing up besides those two things. "There wasn't a whole lot to do other than fighting and fishing," he said, adding that fishing gives him a way to step away from the intensity of training and competition. "Fishing helps balance out the chaos of fighting."
How Chovancek got started in combat sports
Chovancek said he did not take a direct route into mixed martial arts. In high school, he started wrestling, then moved into kickboxing about three months later. Not long after that, he had his first amateur MMA fight.
That climb eventually took him overseas. When he was 17, Chovancek went to Thailand to train, an experience he described as especially meaningful because of his family background. "I went when I was 17, and being half-Thai made it really special," he said.
He also recalled taking a professional Muay Thai fight there and learning a hard lesson in the process. "I took a professional Muay Thai fight and got my (expletive) kicked," he said.
Now, more than a decade after beginning his journey in combat sports, Chovancek is finally ready for his UFC debut. For a fighter whose identity has been shaped by both the gym and the water, it is the next step in a long process that has been years in the making.
