Schmit ready to tangle in Lethbridge: local MMAers pick up wins

By Tyler Lowey, Times Reporter

The Animal is about to be unleashed into the cage again.
Local mixed martial arts fighter Justin “the Animal” Schmit has agreed to fight Sheldon Doll during the Rumble In The Cage 55 event Sept. 30 in Lethbridge.
The light heavyweight Schmit will be entering the fight basically blind, having never seen or read anything about Doll’s previous fights.
Word of the fight came out Sept. 11, immediately sending the Animal into crunch time to get his body right.
Schmit has fought at several weight classes and will take on Doll in the 205-pound, light-heavyweight division.
In the past, he has cut down to 170 and 185 for fights, but at 32, he’s unsure how his body would react to the massive weight cuts from his normal 215 weight.
Schmit last appeared in the ring — the boxing ring — June 24, during the Dekada Premier Fight Night in Calgary.
His last MMA fight took place last January and he is looking to improve on his professional 4-6 record.
Training at his Apex Gym, Schmit has worked with a couple of other successful jiu-jitsu athletes, who brought home some hardware from the Submission Ace Championship Fall Classic Sept. 23 at the Abbey Centre in Blackfalds.
Two trainers from Apex cashed in at Blackfalds.
World champion Emily Sheil won gold in the purple belt division, and Marc Savoie took the bronze in the men’s blue belt division.
A pair of 15-year-olds finished strong in their events. Seth Buss captured the bronze in the 148-pound division and Gabe Durocher took the silver at 120 pounds.