Sudbury’s combat sports scene continues to punch above its weight, with three athletes from Sudbury MMA — Ethan Boyd, Adriana Grano, and Emily Verbeek — officially named to Team Canada for the upcoming WAKO World Kickboxing Championships in Abu Dhabi this November.
Representing three very different paths into the sport, the trio reflects the growing diversity of Sudbury’s martial arts community.
From the Ice to the Ring
For Ethan Boyd, fighting was once just part of the game. A former NOJHL player with the Blind River Beavers, Boyd first took up kickboxing as off-season conditioning back in high school. What started as cross-training quickly became something more.
“I started doing kickboxing in Grade 9 as dryland for hockey,” Boyd said. “It eventually turned into a full-time thing — and now I love it more than I ever loved playing hockey.”
When his old-school, physical style of hockey clashed with the modern game’s shift away from fighting, Boyd found a new outlet that suited him perfectly. “I enjoyed the fighting aspect of hockey,” he said. “In junior, I was winning fights — but my style wasn’t really accepted anymore.”
Kickboxing filled that gap — and then some.
“I love the one-on-one competition,” he explained. “It’s just me and the other guy, nothing in between us. That’s the purest form of sport there is.”
Boyd describes his biggest strength as his relentless pace. “I fight with pressure,” he said. “I’m in your face the whole time. My cardio and power from hockey carry over, and when opponents get tired, that’s when I go for the finish.”
Three Fighters, One Goal
While Boyd and Grano both represented Canada at the 2024 Pan American Championships, this year marks Verbeek’s first time on the international stage — a milestone moment for the young athlete.
Each fighter brings a different story, but all share the same mindset: adaptability and discipline. The lessons from past competitions — including bouts against fighters from Ecuador, Chile, and the U.S. — have taught Boyd and his teammates how to adjust their strategies against international talent.
“The level of competition is higher,” Boyd noted. “Some of those fighters move differently. You have to adapt every time you step in the ring.”
Building a Combat Culture in Sudbury
The selection of three athletes from one Sudbury gym underscores the city’s growing footprint in Canada’s martial arts scene. Head coaches and training partners at Sudbury MMA have created an environment where technical growth, conditioning, and mindset all align.
For a city best known for its hockey and football talent, this new wave of combat athletes represents something exciting — a sign that Sudbury is developing world-class fighters capable of standing toe-to-toe with the best on the planet.
The trio will travel to Abu Dhabi from November 21 to 30, carrying both their country’s colors and the pride of their city into the world arena.