Matt MacGrath
A birthday present from his stepfather – MacGrath joined Judo in January of 1989. After doing Judo for years, he reached the brown belt level. There was a new judo club opening in New Glasgow at the YMCA and he was one of the first 6 members. Under his coach, Donnie MacInnis, MacGrath received his black belt in the year 2000. MacInnis drove him to tournaments and treated him like his own son. He has competed coast to coast and internationally over the last 20 years, winning such tournaments as the AmCan International, Quebec Open, Ontario Open and placing nationally on several tournaments. His passion for Judo and his will to win was strong. From the age of 16, he would hitchhike two hours to Cape Breton on Tuesdays, then four hours to Halifax on Wednesdays, then back to home for school on Thursdays.
30 year-old McGrath was always fit and consistently worked hard. Nearly every weekend, he was spotted at a tournament or a training clinic. You would see him enter in two or three divisions, pushing himself to the next level. It wasn’t until he moved to PEI in 2004, that he started working out at the Rikidokan Judo Club and developed a relationship with John Wilbert and Danny MacGee. He was immediately asked if he’d consider wrestling at the Atlantic’s Tournament on a few days notice. Never having wrestled before, MacGrath was hesitant however withholding a competitive spirit, he naturally answered “what the hell.” MacGrath placed fifth.
Long time friend and judo training partner Jaret MacIntosh suggested MacGrath join Team Titans in Halifax – having to commute several hours to practice Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. MacGrath then progressed to a satellite club at Palookas Boxing gym in Halifax. Keven Taylor and Peter Martell, both black belts under Renzo Gracie, were far better than anything MacGrath had ever experienced, as far as BJJ goes. Rob Walker, former World Muay Thai Champion took him under his wing. MacGrath became unstoppable.
His first fight was against James Landrigan of PEI in the fall of 2006. MacGrath won within 60 seconds of the first round. Landrigan threw a jab and MacGrath shot in and slammed Landrigan down, proceeding to ground and pound him with elbows till the referee jumped in to stop the fight.
MacGrath went on to take his second fight in February of 2007, on less than two weeks notice. Still pretty green as far as MMA goes, his opponent Nigel Zettergreen (2-0) of Calgary was far more experienced. MacGrath was to travel to Edmonton to face him in the MFC promotion. Zettergreen, being a much better striker broke MacGrath’s nose with the first punch. He landed heavy shots to MacGrath’s leg, body and head. Even with a large gash to the back of his head, leading to numerous stitches, MacGrath ended up controlling the fight, taking him down more than a dozen times – landing a few strikes of his own. MacGrath won the decision and was now 2-0. The promotion MFC quoted the fight to be “the bloodiest fight the promotion had ever seen to date.” The bout was the unofficial fight of the night.
A last minute replacement opportunity saw MacGrath against Steve Rogers of PEI. MacGrath wins by reverse arm bar, now recording a third win under his belt. MacGrath and Rogers are presently training partners.
Matt Hamilton was MacGrath’s fourth fight, also from Nova Scotia. Hamilton was a well versed jiu-jitsu student and second degree black belt in Taekwondo however that didn’t stop MacGrath. He won by arm bar.
Travis Axworthy was his fifth opponent. Axworthy, a Muay Thai fighter, calling MacGrath out in a previous fight, was defeated in the first round by arm bar.
Matt Veach was next in line. Also with a 5-0 record, MacGrath couldn’t wait to fight again for MFC in the city of Edmonton. Veach was a strong wrestler from St. Louis – Matt Hughes’ Club. For the first time, MacGrath questioned his ability to go against such a defined wrestler. The fight went the distance and MacGrath tasted defeat for the first time in his career losing a decision.
His next opponent was Daniel “Bighouse” Grandmaison, set to fight in MacGrath’s hometown. The battle went back and forth in every round and after being rocked badly by a heavy right hand in the second, MacGrath came back with a reverse arm bar and wins it in the third.
MacGrath was then hungry for Cory MacDonald, the ECC Welterweight Champion. He trained hard for this bout. After three rounds, it wasn’t enough to take away his belt. MacGrath suffered his second loss.
In the fall of 2009, MacGrath was offered a rematch with Dan “Big House” Grandmaison. He stuck with what he knew best and for three rounds took him to the ground, controlled him and landed punches. MacGrath went on to win by majority decision.
After Shawn Marchard was unable to fight for the scheduled Middleweight belt in Moncton, Eon Shirley stepped up to the plate and was his replacement for the interim belt. MacGrath easily dominated Shirley and won by TKO in the first round.
MacGrath was then faced against Claude Patrick, in Edmonton, Alberta. Patrick was fighting for his chance on the next UFC Card in Vancouver. MacGrath was playing spoiler. The fight rocked back and forth with Patrick having a good wrestling defense mechanism. The fight went deep into the third round before Patrick caught MacGrath with a guillotine choke. MacGrath walked away mentally strong, learning more from his losses than his wins.
When he’s not in the gym training, MacGrath works as a chef. He is recently married to his biggest fan, Melanie. They have a beautiful baby girl Keely whom he hopes to someday teach the sport he loves so much- Judo. MacGrath also coaches both Canada Games Judo and Wrestling at the Rikidokan Martial Arts Club in Charlottetown, PEI. He feels coaching helps him refine his technique, having to know it 100%.
MacGrath wants to convey the message that you don’t need connections to get to the UFC. You don’t need a fancy gym or the best gear to succeed in this sport. It just takes a good base, dedication and hard work. A wrestling coach once told McGrath to just focus on one point at a time. One point, one match or one fight at a time. That will get him to his goal- the UFC. His time is now.
