Pictou native and Fight League Atlantic co-founder Derek Clarke
excited to bring professional MMA back to Pictou, says “it’s just the best place”
When Derek Clarke was growing up in Pictou, he played hockey like mostly everyone else. Though he tells the Advocate that he “basically hated every minute of it,” Clarke spent much of his childhood on the ice of the Hector Arena.
Fast forward to today, and Clarke is the owner and co-founder of Fight League Atlantic (FLA), one of the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) destinations in North America outside the UFC and the other big-name promotions. This is their fifth time taking premier MMA talents from Canada and all over North America to the Hector, and Clarke says coming home is always special for him.
“It’s just the best place, I just love the people, man,” he said.
Clarke, who grew up in Pictou, says he always takes the chance to host an event there. “It’s incredible (at the Hector), I grew up playing hockey in that arena, my uncle ran the arena, my brother is on the board, my father was on the board there, that arena has a lot of history.” Clarke said, “It has such a special history for me personally, and so many other people in this community. I think that’s a word that many people forget, community,” he said, “But as a community, to bring an event like that, like it’s literally a world-class event. Every single time when the show starts, I almost come to tears because, you get 1,200 plus people in that arena that probably 80 per cent of them are not from Pictou.” He added, “It’s an incredible thing.”
FLA held a show in Pictou earlier this year in April, and Clarke said hosting an event in his own backyard adds a level of control to the venue he does not have elsewhere.
“Venues are, in our line of work, extremely difficult. Because hockey plays such a big factor, 99 per cent of the venues that are here on the East Coast are hockey-related. It’s really hard to find a venue that’s not 100 per cent catering to hockey. They’re not entertainment venues, they’re really a rink.”
With the Hector Arena, “I can control a lot of things.” He said, “You’re not selling your 2,000-plus tickets like you would in Moncton or Halifax, or somewhere like that. But it’s also such a small venue that I hear time and time again where people are like, ‘that’s the best environment.’ Because it’s small and people tell me ‘You’re almost right out there with the cage.’ And it’s just cool people, cool environment.”
Clarke said he feels pride in bringing his fights to Pictou, despite the controversy surrounding MMA. “It’s fighting, obviously, you have your people who are naysayers from the beginning.”
In Pictou, he said, it is always a warm response. “You know, a lot of our staff is like, ‘oh, it’s crazy that more people don’t come out.’ And I’m like, ‘I remember doing events back in the day for 25 people and we didn’t get events.’ And I said, the day will come, I always say that. We keep showing up and people eventually will find out. And the day that we have 1,500 people in Pictou, it’s going to be quite incredible.”
As a Pictou native, Clarke said he knows that the area does not often draw in big events. “People deserve to see this kind of show. Because nothing comes to Pictou.” He says, “There’s stuff at the deCoste, but outside of performing arts, nothing from a sports perspective ever really comes to the Hector Arena.”
He said, “In Pictou, you know, we’re growing locally. There are more Pictou County folks coming out every time. And that’s great to see because we’re going to Pictou. Obviously when we come to Pictou, I’m from here, so that’s why we’re coming back.”
The Pictou County fans are the main driver in why he always has Pictou in mind for a show. “If people don’t come out, then it doesn’t make sense to go there.” He said that is not the case in Pictou.
Not only is it beneficial to Clarke to operate a fight card out of Pictou, but for the local talent as well. “There’s so many advantages to doing these little events here, and like I said, just giving exposure to people, that’s probably the most important thing, like just getting that sport out there.”
He said Pictou has become a “fight town,” and Clarke hopes that one day, someone who is fighting professionally can look back on FLA in Pictou as the inciting incident.
Clarke said FLA’s role is to “help fighters achieve their dreams. “That’s what I’m in the business for, that’s what I get out of it the most. Helping these fighters follow their dreams and make it to the biggest stage.”
He said, “How cool would it be if as an athlete, you go from fighting in Pictou to Las Vegas.”
Clarke spoke about Cam Nelson, a former FLA fighter, and native of PEI that recently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the world’s best fighting promotion. “Cam (Nelson) for example, who has just been signed to the UFC, is going to fight in Shanghai, China. So he’s going from the Hector Arena to Shanghai, in front of 20,000 people.”
Having that avenue open gives Clarke hope that someone from Pictou County could one day see themselves fighting alongside the world’s best.
“He’s a purebred Fight League Atlantic athlete from start to finish. It’s like having a guy get drafted number one overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs, it’s amazing to see.” He said someone from Pictou County making it all the way to the UFC “is possible, right now, a little far-fetched.” He hopes that one day, this will not be a pipe dream, but a reality.
Showcasing local Atlantic Canadian talent was one of the biggest reasons for Clarke and co-founder Jon Foster in starting this promotion. “Jon and I and a lot of others here on the East Coast, we always say we have a chip on our shoulder. Because we always felt like we’ve been overlooked.” He said that led to the focus on Atlantic Canadian talent, now FLA has talent from all across Canada, USA, Mexico, and other countries from around the world.
Clarke wants the people of Pictou to experience a fight night. He said he had been approached by someone who attended a fight card. “He said, ‘this is so incredible. I can’t believe this is here in Pictou.’ And that’s what I want people to know, like just come out to experience it.” He says, “until you go, a lot of people have that, I think, preconceived notion of what a fight night is or what a fight event is. They may have been to one before, and maybe they think it’s similar, but once you’ve been to Fight League Atlantic, there really isn’t anything else.” He says nothing else “compares locally for a sports event. You know, like it’s just there’s a ton of entertainment.
The athletes are super talented, and they’re respectful to one another. The sport, it’s fighting, but it’s like these kids are, you know, really phenomenal athletes who train so hard, work full-time, have families, and most of them are amateurs, not getting paid. It’s really, really incredible to see what they can kind of do in front of a live crowd.”
He said, “If I were a fan in Pictou, I’d take full advantage and make sure that I came to this event. Had a fun night out. What else is there to do?”
Clarke also runs his own jiu-jitsu club in Pictou for kids as well as one for adults. He says being able to show the world of MMA to kids in Pictou just might spark inspiration in one of them.
“In April, they were all there for the weigh-in. They all came and we all took a picture in the cage together. Just exposing these kids to something that they would never have seen before, like I never had, in Pictou County meant a lot.”
He added, “Who knows, maybe one of those kids will be the next George St. Pierre.”
Local fans can see the show at the Hector Arena on Sept. 26. Event starts at 7 p.m. and tickets are on Showpass.
