Mike Maurer is back on the gridiron. But his alter ego “The Wolverine” is thinking about another appearance in the Maximum Fighting Championship ring.
The Edmonton Eskimos fullback, who was the Most Outstanding Canadian in the 2005 Grey Cup game, recently settled into training camp for the 2006 season with the defending CFL champs but thoughts of MMA weren’t far from his mind when the Z-Files caught up with him.
Z-Files: When you look back on your professional fighting debut at MFC 9 (a first-round victory by tapout due to strikes over Darren Apels), what memories come to mind?
MM: The one thing that I’ll always remember was just what a great experience it was. It was something that I just had to do and it was incredible. I’m going to see about doing it again and if I do I know it will be awesome.
Z-Files: You certainly had a lot of fans in the crowd that night. That must have made you happy to have that support?
MM: That was really cool. A lot of my family was there and a lot of teammates. So many of them have come up to me in camp so far and talked about it. A lot of them regret not being there to see me and they’re looking forward to seeing me at another event.
Z-Files: So let’s put the cards on the table. How about fighting at MFC 11 in February?
MM: I have to get through the whole football season but if I get through it with no injuries then I’d be very excited to do it again.
Z-Files: You said before that fight in March that you would only continue in MMA if you thought you had the ability to go far in the sport. What are your own impressions on your abilities now?
MM: I think I do have something to work with. I see the guys fighting on The Ultimate Fighter and I feel there’s no reason why I can’t be there with them. I have the tools to work with so we’ll just see how it goes.
Z-Files: When you hopefully fight in February, are you expecting a tougher challenge?
MM: I definitely do want that. There’s not a whole lot of point to doing it if you’re not going to keep challenging yourself. I can’t fight the same level of fighter that I did at the last event. I have to test myself to see if I’m getting better.