While Kenora has had its share of struggles in the past, through determination and hard work, the town has managed to survive some testing times. This fighting spirit is something that can be found embodied in Lake of the Wood’s own professional mixed martial artist, Jesse ‘The Water’ Bongfeldt.
On October 27 it was announced that welterweight Bongfeldt had signed with the UFC, he was to step in on short notice to fight Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Rafael Natal at UFC 124. Jesse was to finally realize his dream of fighting at the pinnacle of a sport he remembers being a fan of since it first aired in 1993, and at 31 years of age it was not a moment too soon.
“It was a relief to finally make it to the big show; it had been a lifelong goal of mine. After fighting on every card in the country and being part of the grass roots movement of mixed martial arts in Canada, it was gratifying to know my hard work had paid off. Leading up to the fight, it’s a blend of emotions – excitement, fear, animosity, peace. It’s a balance of emotions that needs to be controlled, and released in the fight.”
The bout lasted the full scheduled three rounds and the decision was left in the hands of the judges who scored the fight as a draw. A decision that after two very close rounds and then a Bongfeldt dominated third left many Ktowners believing that Jesse had done enough to earn the victory. When asked whether he thought the draw was a fair result he responded, “No, I defeated him.”
Despite not earning the win on that occasion, he did enough to convince the UFC of his talent and was scheduled to fight the winner of The Ultimate Fighter season 11 Court Mcgee at UFC 131 on June 11 in Vancouver. McGee, however, was forced to withdraw from the contest due to injury and is being replaced by highly rated prospect Chris Weidman, a change that leaves Bongfeldt unfazed.
“It hasn’t affected my preparations for the fight too much at all. They are both wrestlers and they both have the same strategy, to take me to the ground and finish the fight there.” Jesse lives in Kenora full time and is grateful to his hometown for the lifelong support and the contribution to his success.
“Kenora is a fight town and it’s always supported the martial arts and MMA movement. My friends and fellow martial arts practitioners were always exploring new avenues in which to train. Going to the local bars didn’t hurt either. It’s always an honour to have people from Kenora at my fights and we always meet up afterwards to celebrate. Having to leave Kenora and seek out a qualified organization was hard. Now I’ve been able to bring that home for the next generation of athletes at United Fighter gym.”
With a background in several martial arts such as Jeet Kune, Karate, Aikido and Muay Thai, the surge in interest in MMA could not have come at a more perfect time for Jesse and growing up watching his idol Fedor Emelianenko fed his hunger to achieve.
“Martial arts was something I had already been training in. It seemed a good sport in which to test my skills. Watching UFC developed my interest in the grappling aspect of the martial arts. I really liked watching Fedor Emelianenko, I admire his string of victories.”
Fedor’s string of 27 victories, although interrupted by a no contest is an amazing achievement and now that Jesse has his chance in the big time the sky really is the limit for a man who doesn’t shy away from hard work. He has already held many titles in his career so far such as the CMMAC Light Heavyweight amateur title, CMMAC Welterweight Title, TKO welterweight championship (x2), RITC professional welterweight title, RITC Middleweight title, all of which make for an impressive resume so far. Since moving back to Kenora in 2007 he has started his own branch of the United Fighter Mixed Martial Arts Academy with Chris Harper where he trains every day in cardio, wrestling, boxing and strength.
Of course, that is putting it in layman’s terms, he encourages anyone who wants to see exactly what it takes to come to the gym and find out. It is located in the Hing block below the old Sunbeam pool hall, on the corner of First and Matheson Street. Even a man with such a rigorous training regime still finds time to relax on beautiful Lake of the Woods.
“In my spare time I like to hang out with my son and my family, recover from my workouts, eat, catch a movie, read and play my guitar. When it comes to the lake though, I just love to swim. Last summer I ripped a couple of sea-doo out to Scotty’s Island; it was so much fun.”
So whether you see Jesse out training, or you decide to take him up on his offer to check out the gym or you even just see him spending time relaxing on the lake, be sure to offer your support to one of Kenora’s own – making us all proud.
