Chad Laprise is a Canadian UFC fighter from London, Ontario, Canada. He has been fighting since 2010 and in that time has never tasted defeat. You may know him best from his time spent, and victory on The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia.
Chad just had his second fight in the Octagon at UFC Fight Night 54. He was victorious over a very tough competitor in Yosdenis Cedeno, winning the fight by unanimous decision.
I had the good fortune of catching up with Chad, and got some insight into this great fighter’s life.
Aaron Robbins : Chad, thank you for giving me some of your time. How are you feeling?
Chad Laprise: “I’m doing well man. I’m enjoying some rest; some down time. I’m spending time with my wife and just chilling. That’s about it, and looking forward to getting back to camp.”
AR: Did you come out of the fight healthy?
CL: “I came out of the fight without a scratch on me. I didn’t even get hit. It’s always a plus to get in and get out and not get hurt.”
AR: What did you think of the Canadians nearly sweeping the event in Halifax?
CL: “Yeah it was awesome, almost all the guys fighting on the card won. I grew up fighting with those guys on the local scene, or they are teammates fighting out of Tristar Gym so I was thrilled to see everybody do so well. It was a great night for Canada.
“There is so much talent here in Canada, and all over the globe, and it’s nice to see us getting the respect we deserve. I want to be an ambassador for the sport and my country as well. I want to represent Canada and be the best I can.”
AR: There still may be some fans who aren’t aware of you as they should be. Why don’t you give them a little background on yourself?
CL: “I’ve been training at Tristar Gym for a little over two years now. I’m originally from Team Tompkins in London, Ontario. That’s where I started my career, and after Shawn (Tompkins) passed away I stated training in Montreal part time, and after the Ultimate Fighter I move to Montreal full-time. I was able to move there because of the bonuses that I won during the show. I have been there permanently since July of 2014. I trained for the Cedeno fight for those three months.”
AR: Chad what led you to MMA?
CL: “I started training Tae Kwon Do when I was a kid. I started boxing after that, and the boxing led to kickboxing. I just always wanted to take that next step, and I started training MMA when I was about 19.”
AR: You mentioned you recently moved to Montreal. How has that move been?
CL: “My wife and I moved there in July. She quit her job to be there with me. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Montreal, but people don’t speak English here. It’s a French community. There were definitely a lot of sacrifices coming up here. My wife hasn’t been able to find a job yet, because obviously you need to speak French to find a job. Getting the win was definitely motivating, and the purse has allowed us to keep going. My wife has been taking some French lessons to be able to work here, but I’m just going to keep training and focusing on fights.”
AR: Let’s talk about Tristar for a minute. Who were your most influential training partners getting ready for this fight?
CL: “There were four of us there fighting on this card so it was great. I spent a lot of time sparring with Rory MacDonald. I trained with Olivier Aubin-Mercier, who I fought on The Ultimate Fighter. Rick Hawn, and Mike Ricci played a big part as well. There are so many killers up at that gym. There are no easy rounds.”
AR: So I know you’re not going to be taking much time off, but are you enjoying the time between camps?
CL: “Yeah I’m only planning on taking one week off training, this is definitely what God put me on earth to do. To enjoy ourselves my wife and I took an extra day in Halifax after the fight, and I’ve been eating a whole lot of food that I couldn’t have before. I’m a pretty big Lightweight. I have to cut quite a bit of weight to make that division, so I’ve just been enjoying all the food I couldn’t eat for the last three months. I’ve just been relaxing; having no schedule, eating, sleeping, just relaxing and enjoying life. I’ve been spending time with family, and it’s back to training on Monday.”
AR: Wow, no rest for the weary. Chad I ask this question to a lot of the fighters I talk to. What do you want to do when the fight game is done?
CL: “I want to be a pastor. Once my career is done that’s what I want to do. God is first-and-foremost in my life. That’s what is most important to me. I truly believe that God put me here at this time to be a fighter. It’s a huge help having my faith in the cage. Fighting is a mental. Training is all physical, but come fight night it is all mental, and knowing that I’m not in there alone is a huge comfort. It helps me to be at ease and peace when I go in the cage.
“My dream goal for when I’m done fighting is to open up a fight church. People will be able to come there to learn about God and to be able to train to fight as well.”
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