Cree Nation of Oujé-Bougoumou youth finds success in mixed martial arts

Street fighting was a part of growing up for Quinn Blacksmith in Cree Nation of Oujé-Bougoumou, about 500 kilometres north of Montreal. 

"My buddies would get into fights … Somehow [we] end up having to defend ourselves," Blacksmith said. 

In 2020, though, things changed for Blacksmith; he started practising mixed martial arts (MMA) for self-defence, training through a fitness program offered in the community.

Now at 20, Blacksmith is the youngest two-time champion in the Montreal Fight League (MFL). 

He said he's learned so much more than self-defence. 

"I know from personal experience that it helped me a lot with my anger," Blacksmith said.

"MMA, it helped me a lot emotionally ... Emotions can be high when you're a young teenager and you need MMA to control them, to harness it. I hope that one day kids will see that."

Oujé-Bougoumou asked Maz Mas to establish the fitness program Blacksmith was a part of in 2020. He turned the fitness program into a fight team, something he said could act as an outlet for young men to "let their aggression loose" in a healthy way, while burning off energy in the gym.

Working with the first group of fighters, Mas said he noticed how strong many of them were.

"They have this extra natural strength," he said.

"I said all they're missing is some discipline and technique and with that natural strength they should be unstoppable." 

Mas was supposed to spend only six months in the community in 2020. But now he spends months at a time in Oujé-Bougoumou as a fitness instructor travelling from his home in Montreal, where he is president and a promoter for MFL.

Blacksmith's training is paying off for him. He currently ranks first place out of 27 active amateur heavyweight fighters in Canada,