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There's nothing like punching someone in the face in your own backyard.

Ask any of the seven Canadians on Saturday's UFC Fight Night card at Rogers Place and they'll tell you it's like a straight shot of adrenaline.

The sound reaches a level that you won't hear anywhere else. The atmosphere is more intense. When they fight at home, everything is turned up to 11.

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“I'm excited to stand behind that curtain and hear the (floor producer) with the headset telling me, 'Okay, you go in three, two, one,'” said Burlington welterweight Mike Malott, who won the seven – Main card fight against American Trevin Giles.

“You hear Fat Lip from Sum 41 (Malott's strike music) and you hear a quiet roar backstage. Then when you walk out through that curtain, it goes from this quiet roar to screaming fans right in your face. You can hear the echo from the arena.”

It's hectic and the only thing that matters is living up to the moment.

“I don’t care how I get this win, I just want to go out there and do my best,” said Malott, who is 10-2-1 and looking to accelerate his rise in the division after an upset loss in his last outing.

“I’m confident I’ll go out there and put in the best performance of my career.”

In the “cage with additional energy”

The last time Jasmine Jasudavicius fought was an away game in Denver, where the American crowd showered her with boos during her post-victory interview. She's usually a fun, easy-going girl, but she wasn't having any of that that night.

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Her response, “Fuck it, man,” is legendary.

“I was talking to one of the guys and they said, 'In Canada you're always at full speed, and when you're away you like to play heel,'” laughed the 14th-ranked St. Catharines flyweight a warmer reception when she takes on 13th-ranked Brazilian Ariane (Queen of Violence) Da Silva.

She says the physical and emotional boost they experience at home is very real.

“I’m so excited to fight in Canada. I feel like they're all behind me and I walk to the cage with extra energy. It's so cool that they support me. I love it,” she said.

“Fighting is part of our culture”

Laval bantamweight Aiemann Zahabi is headlining the seven-fight preliminary bout against Pedro Munoz and says it's no coincidence that the UFC is always a hit when things go north.

Fighting, he says, is in our blood.

“Every time they come they sell out. Canadians love to fight,” he said. “Even in our biggest national sports, hockey and lacrosse, fights occur. For Canadians, fighting is part of our culture.

“We've always had great boxers, great kickboxers, great karate fighters, great hockey fighters and lacrosse fighters. I think Canadian fans really appreciate UFC coming. They’re always there and it’s always a great crowd, so I’m looking forward to fighting here.”

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Edmonton has always been a major fight city, since the days of Canadian heavyweight boxing champions Ken Lakusta and Willie De Wit. And on the ice, Edmonton Oilers enforcers Dave Semenko, Dave Brown and Georges Laraque are celebrated, as are the greats who protected them.

Trash talk

Zahabi doesn't have a favorite tough guy in the NHL, but he is friends with Derek Parker, who once played two consecutive minor league seasons with 503 and 508 penalty minutes and even took up mixed martial arts.

“Derek Parker used to train with us, so you could say he was my favorite hockey fighter,” Zahabi said with a laugh.

“He’s super tough. Hockey guys are extremely tough. He has one of the most viral videos where he's hitting a guy in MMA with punches and punches and the guy's mouthpiece falls out, so he takes the mouthpiece, puts it back in the guy's mouth and keeps hitting him.

“Just good old Canadian martial arts, just nice guys out there who know how to take care of business.”

It seems a little contradictory, a country known for dealing politely and confidently with violence, but Zahabi says that's a given. He enjoys fighting, but has never been the type to tear down his opponent or hurl insults to get online hits.

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“I don’t think that makes any sense,” he said. “It’s a business and we’re athletes. I'm here to be an athlete. I don't think guys in the NBA or NFL need to talk nonsense. I don't think I need that either.

“We want kids to get into the sport, we want them to become great martial artists and develop good character. It's not about being a villain, it's about doing well in your sport. I’m trying to grow my social media in other ways than just talking trash.”

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