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| House will fight McRann November 16th |
When
King of the Cage Canada returns to Edmonton this Friday for its “Standard and
Deliver” card, the spotlight will shine not only on decorated veterans like
Garett Davis and Elmer Waterhen, but newcomers to the cage like Lynnell House
and Sarah McRann. After developing their skills in the gym for several years,
both women decided it was time to make their debuts and put their abilities to
the test on November 16th. In fact, the 125 pound fighters will do so against
one another.
“I’ve
been thinking about it for a quite a while,” said the 21 year-old House, who
spent time training and competing in boxing, before transitioning into MMA. “I
thought it was time because I’m 21 and I’ve been training for how many years.
So I thought I would get it out of the way and experience it.”
“I
started four years ago; one of my girlfriends got me into Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
and I just loved it,” the 36 year-old McRann noted. “Our gym (Bowman’s MMA) is
pretty family orientated, and it just went from there. I started doing kickboxing,
and all this other stuff; I have other girlfriends who run marathons, and they
were quizzing me ‘what do you plan on doing? How do you plan on testing
yourself?’...So I thought I would fight.”
After
spending countless hours in the gym training and preparing, now the women are
just days away from competing in front of an enthusiastic Mirage Banquet crowd.
“I
get nervous but I just try not to think about it,” said House, who resides in
Red Deer and is also training to become a welder. “I don’t want the nerves to
scare me off, but I’m not really that nervous. I’m pretty confident.”
“The
thing that makes me the most nervous is talking about myself,” McRann noted
before laughing. “I’m a nurse by trade, so, I guess I kind of liken the nerves
to going into a really tough situation. As far as having time to think about
it, I’m a mother of three, a wife, and I work, so, I really haven’t that much
time to think about it. With the training involved, I’m so exhausted that it
will come and when it comes, it will be great.”
House
continues to evolve as a fighter under the guidance of her uncle Dwight Roux,
while McRann is the latest competitor to be developed by the aforementioned
Bowman’s MMA gym in Fort McMurray.
“I’m
pretty good everywhere,” said House, who recently took 1st place in the
advanced division of a no gi grappling tournament. “I’m not really that good of
a kicker, but if I have to kick I will, but if they want to keep it standing
up, I’ll keep it standing up, if they want to take it to the ground I’ll take
it to the ground. I’m good standing or on the ground.”
“I
think for this fight, considering that she is a boxer, I’ll probably prefer to
take it to the ground,” said McRann. “I’m comfortable on the ground; I love
trading punches too.”
And
what do House and McRann hope the future holds in terms of MMA?
“Yeah,
I want to make a career out of it,” House acknowledged. “It’s fun. I don’t mind
it. It’s pretty cool.”
“I
think for now it’s just one fight at a time,” McRann said. “It is what it is. I
know that there are a few other fights on the horizon that I have planned, but
for now, it’s just one fight at a time.”
“Stand
and Deliver” will be headlined by a Canadian welterweight title fight between
champion Garett Davis and Canadian middleweight champ Elmer Waterhen.
Tickets
for the event can be purchased by heading to ClubZone.com or at the Wild West
Shooting Centre.
