Despite his slow start, Victoria’s Janes is savouring the UFC journey

After a slow start to his UFC career, Canadian middleweight Ryan Janes has hardly stopped moving.

The 35-year-old native of Grand Falls-Windsor, N.L., who now makes his home in Victoria, was set to makes his UFC debut last August in Vancouver only to have his opponent pulled on the eve of the fight due to a possible drug violation. He was subsequently slotted onto an October card in the Philippines, a show cancelled 11 days ahead of time when headliner B.J. Penn was injured.

The cards have came fast and furious since, however. “It’s been crazy,” he said. Janes (9-2-0) won a decision over Keith Berish in December in Albany, N.Y. — becoming the first Newfoundlander to fight in the UFC — before losing via firstround submission to Gerald Meerschaert in February in Halifax.

On Sunday, the web developer for the B.C. government takes on hard-hitting Welshman Jack (The Hammer) Marshman (21-6-0) on a televised card in Glasgow, Scotland.

Iceland’s Gunnar Nelson, ranked eighth among welterweight contenders, meets No. 14 Santiago Ponzinibbio of Argentina in the main event at the SSE Hydro arena.

Nelson (16-2-1) has won his last two since losing to Demian Maia in December 2015. Ponzinibbio (24-3-0) has won four straight, beating Montreal-based Nordine Talibe last time out.

Despite the eight time zones that separate Victoria and Glasgow, Janes asked to be on the Scottish card. Before moving to Victoria, he had a three-month work stint at the University of Aberdeen and “absolutely loved the place.”

Despite the stop-and-start beginning to his UFC career, Janes says he was always confident that the fights would come and has been treated well by the promotion.

He saw the Berish fight as a chance to get rid of the UFC jitters and show off his skills before a hostile crowd.

Meerschaert, who has 19 submission wins, proved to be a different story. Janes opened well and took his opponent down, only to get caught in an armbar after making a mistake while in top position.

“It was just a little slip of the mind, a little blip,” he said. “I probably rushed the grappling exchanges a little too much. But beyond that little blip if I had to fight him again, I’d do the exact same thing . ... It was the best minute and a half of my fight career.”

The next four seconds saw him tap out, however.

“You make a little mistake and you pay for it,” he said.

While he lost the fight, he savoured the week in Halifax with family and friends coming over from Newfoundland.

Marshman, a former paratrooper in the British army, has power in his hands. He lost to hard-nosed Brazilian Thiago Santos last time out but knocked the 14th-ranked middleweight on his butt.

The six-foot-three Canadian will have a three-inch advantage in both height and reach, however.

“He’s used to fighting taller guys,” cautioned Janes.

Still, he likes his chances. “It’s a great matchup for me ... I’m excited about this fight because he will definitely engage in the standup. And I’m more comfortable ... than he is everywhere.”

Sunday marks a year to the day that Janes signed with the UFC. Because of the cancellation of his first two cards, he has been in training camp mode almost the entire time.

“I love to train. I love everything about it,” he said of MMA. “This year I don’t think I’ve ever been happier with it.”

Janes trains out of Zuma Ultimate Martial Arts, which has long been the home of former UFC fighter and Strikeforce champion Sarah Kaufman. He works during the day and trains at night, making up any lost time in what’s left.

Janes did not take up the sport until he was 25 and says the late entry makes him appreciate everything more.

Bored lifting weights, he was taken by a kick-boxing movie, so he looked though the phone book to find a gym that offered Thai boxing. That led him to Zuma.

“I called and that was it,” said Janes, now a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

The Canadian Press

It was just a little slip of the mind, a little blip. I probably rushed the grappling exchanges a little too much. But beyond that little blip if I had to fight him again, I’d do the exact same thing . ... It was the best minute and a half of my fight career.

RYAN JANES, on his loss to Gerald Meerschaert