Spokane native Mike Cyr can secure UFC contract with win in next fight

Local MMA fighter Michael Cyr (8-1) is one fight away from the UFC.

Cyr takes on bantamweight Kasey Tanner (8-1) on Saturday in Phoenix, Arizona as the main event of LFA 220 in what is possibly the biggest fight of his life to date.

“Both (Cyr) and (Tanner) are already on the UFC’s radar, so this matchup carries serious weight,” Cyr’s head coach and owner of Warrior Camp Pablo Alfonso said via email.

Both bantamweights have a high finish rate, identical records and the promotion has put “a lot of hype behind” the fight, according to Cyr.

“(The) winner might have a really good chance (of going to the UFC),” Cyr said. “That’s the implication.”

Cyr would be the third athlete from Warrior Camp to go to the UFC. The St. Michael’s graduate joined the MMA gym in 2018, a few weeks before getting married.

“(I) started with jiu-jitsu (but) I wanted to do MMA,” Cyr said. “I really wanted to fight.”

Cyr pulled up to the 6 a.m. class thinking he would be pretty good.

Then, class started.

“(They were) all killers,” Cyr said. “They beat me up for about six months. I didn’t get it – didn’t tap anybody for probably six months or more.”

Still, Cyr kept coming back when others would quit – not because it was easy, but because it was real.

“It’s one of those things that makes it more enticing when it’s been difficult and seems unreachable,” Cyr said.

Fast forward seven years – Cyr is now a black belt under Alfonso and about to fight in what could be the most important fight of his career.

“What Cyr has is a nitty-gritty toughness, a blue-collar mentality, a guy that’s willing to do anything it takes to win,” strength and conditioning coach Dr. Dylan Lemery said.

Cyr was slated to fight earlier this year, but after the fight fell through, he kept himself ready for nine months, eagerly awaiting the next call.

“We’ve known about this fight, or the possibility of, for about eight weeks, but (Tanner) didn’t accept it ’til about six weeks,” Cyr said.

Finally, the contract was signed and Cyr entered fight camp.

“Stylistically, (the match) plays right into his strengths: relentless pressure, pace, and toughness,” Alfonso said. “Kasey Tanner’s durable, but (Cyr’s) pressure and work rate are different.”

Cyr has the height and reach advantage – his 5-foot-9-inch stature and 71.5-inch reach against Tanner’s 5-foot-7-inch frame and 69-inch reach. Both Cyr and Tanner have an extensive grappling background, but Cyr finishes more fights than Tanner.

“(Tanner’s) really good, and I’ve seen a lot of his fights,” Cyr said. “He’s never been finished, which is going to be the thing that I’m looking for.”

Alfonso is certain that Cyr will “melt him” and become the first to finish Tanner. Cyr, with his 100% finish rate, has another reason to look for the finish: judges’ bias.

“We’ll see how it goes because it’s (Tanner’s) hometown too, so (I) might need that (finish) instead of letting it go to the judges,” Cyr said.

His striking a big focus of the camp, Cyr plans not to go to the ground unless Tanner takes him there.

“I think I see some holes in (Tanner’s) striking … It’s kind of like what mine used to be where everything was trying to find a way into the takedown,” Cyr said. “Besides strategic times when I want to take him down, I’m not really looking for the takedown.”

Should the fight get to the ground, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt can handle himself. Seven of Cyr’s eight wins have been finished by submission.

“Cyr is very much a submission artist,” Lemery said, adding that Cyr has been training his grip strength and ground stamina during the fight camp.

Alfonso is looking forward to Cyr showing off his cardio and fight IQ.

“If he keeps his rhythm and doesn’t let (Tanner) slow things down, it could turn into one of those performances that really puts (Cyr) on the map,” Alfonso said.

Now that the fight is here, the pressure Cyr put on himself in fight camp has ebbed away.

“I did all the work,” Cyr said. “I really want to make a statement and get another finish.”

LFA 220: Tanner vs. Cyr takes place on Saturday at the Arizona Financial Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona. The main card starts at 7 p.m. and can be streamed on UFC Fight Pass.