What it takes to fight

• Kylan Klauzer

Press Photo by Dustin Monke Kylan Klauzer, top, pounds on Heath Roth during his technical knockout mixed martial art fight victory on Sept. 12, 2009, during the Badlands Throwdown fights at the Dickinson Recreation Center. The Dickinson Police Department detective returns to the cage tonight during the Boomtown Brawl fights against Tony Kelly.

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Every mixed martial arts fighter at every level has a different training regimen — and it doesn’t just mean hitting the gym.

Some fighters are incredibly strict on themselves, making drastic changes in how they exercise, eat and drink. Others don’t push themselves so hard. They train moderately before buckling down and disciplining as fight night approaches.

In preparation for his fight at tonight’s Boomtown Brawl, Dickinson’s Kylan Klauzer took a staggered but not all-together drastic approach.

“I wanted a slower progression and be peaking at the right time,” Klauzer said. “I knew it was going to take me more time so I was peaking at the right time.”

Klauzer faces Tony Kelly in tonight’s main event of a fight card scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at the Dickinson Recreation Center.

The 27-year-old Baker, Mont., native began training in January for the scheduled five-round heavyweight bout.

Early on, he focused on cardio and light training to increase his stamina. By March, he began working on technical aspects of MMA.

However, getting ready for a fight doesn’t just mean lifting weights and running.

One of the most important aspects of the Klauzer’s training, he said, is maintaining discipline in his diet.

The Dickinson Police Department detective said he eats maybe eight different types of meals and he hasn’t drank alcohol since January.

“Is that a little bit extreme? Probably yes,” Klauzer said of staying away from alcohol. “But it’s a bit of a psychological boost.”

In the mornings, he eats oatmeal or bran cereals. For lunch, it’s fish, chicken or a sandwich. At night, he goes for pasta or a high-calorie meal to keep him from losing weight while he sleeps.

For a snack, he chooses almonds, cranberries or beef jerky. Still, he likes to limit himself to eating red meat only once a week.

It’s all done in an effort to keep his 6-foot-3 muscular physique healthy at all times.

“It’s really, really simple,” Klauzer said of his diet. “You find what’s working for you and you stay with it. You don’t throw anything else in there. That gets real old, eating the same things over and over. But your body gets into a routine, into a rhythm and that’s where you want to keep it.”

Other fighters take different training approaches as Klauzer.

Robert Fitch, who pulls 14-hour shifts on a workover rig near Gillette, Wyo., fights Travis McCullough at 205 pounds tonight. Fitch said he spends five days a week on MMA training and two days with a workout program of his own design.

As for a diet? Fitch laughs and says his job keeps him from maintaining the preferred fighter diet. Nonetheless, he has one bit of advice for aspiring mixed martial artists:

“Stop drinking beer,” he said with a gut-busting laugh. “That goes straight to your hips. It’s counterproductive to what I’m doing, what I’m trying to do.”

Former Dickinson State University wrestler Shane Bennett said he has never had a problem cutting weight in preparation of matches.

Bennett said he was 195 pounds five weeks ago and was at 170 at Friday night’s weigh-ins.

He said dieting is the best way to prepare for a fight.

“You watch your diet, you restrict your diet right away,” Bennett said. “Cut down your portions and work out a lot.”

Klauzer, a former All-American football player at DSU, put Heath Roth on the mat early and eventually won his first and only MMA fight via a technical knockout in 4 minutes on Sept. 12, 2009 during the Badlands Throwdown.

Since then, he’s been to fight camps in Las Vegas and Houston, including one run by former UFC champion and MMA icon Randy Couture.

Klauzer said he learned a lot at those camps, especially how to prepare for a fight.

“I try to do it as professional as possible,” Klauzer said.

Boomtown Brawl

7 p.m. today

At Dickinson Recreation Center

Fight Card

Note: Fight card subject to change

145: Texas Cole vs. Kahl Clark

135: Damian Berger vs. Ira Carson

170: Clint Mrnak vs. Branden Lawrence

160: Travis Hoffman vs. Zimmy Zimdars

170: Kale Oversen vs. Kevin Tjaden

185: Shane Bennett vs. Chris Hugh

205: Robert Fitch vs. Travis McCullough

185: Cole Ackerman vs. Jon Knutson

205: Matt Michaelson vs. Jesse Newbreast

245: Kylan Klauzer vs. Tony Kelly

Tags: mixed martial arts, boomtown brawl, sports, mma