Patrick Turner and Suhair Mondair. (Nigel Maxwell/paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Fight Night

Prince Albert fighters ready to rumble

Apr 2, 2025 | 5:00 PM

A mixed martials arts event titled Rumble In The Cage 69 takes place this weekend in Lethbridge and will include two fighters from Prince Albert.

Patrick Turner (2-2) has an amateur middleweight bout against hometown favourite Jonathan Balsam (1-1); and Suhail Mondair has a featherweight fight against Emerald Park’s Keon Anders.

Turner’s last fight was in September and lost by decision. The match marked his first time competing in nearly 11 years and when asked by paNOW how he felt about back into the cage, he said it feels a lot different.

“I’ve recently got my blue belt and I’ve been training really hard and I’m just feeling more confident in my skill and I think I’ve gotten quite a bit better,” he said.

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One month after the fight, Turner competed at a jiu-jitsu tournament in Saskatoon and won two gold medals. Looking back on his last fight, Turner believes he may have held back a bit too much in the first round and promises not to make that mistake again.

“I think I’m just gonna put the pace on him and not give him any breaks and try to break him, that’s the goal, make him tired,” he said. “I’m just gonna try not to let it go to the judges this time.”

Turner also noted plans to dedicate this fight to his younger sister, whose father passed away recently.

“She’s going through a hard time, so I just wanna let her know she’s loved and lift her spirits up a little bit”

Both Turner and Mondair train out of North Wake Martial Arts under head instructor Lucian Phillips. This weekend’s fight represents Mondair’s first amateur bout, and the 22 -year-old who has a background in boxing and wrestling, said he feels confident and ready.

“I’ve never really been in front of a crowd, so that’s gonna be something new, but I am just going to blur it all out when I go out there and focus on the match,” he said.

In preparation for the challenge that lies ahead, Mondair has been working hard the past few months. (Submitted photo)

Mondair moved to Prince Albert roughly two-and-a-half years ago, and soon after starting training at North Wake Martial Arts.

“I just fell in love with the process,” he said.

Saturday’s night event at the Lethbridge Servus Sports Centre, has 18 scheduled fights, and will be live streamed. By using the promo code TURNER or MONDAIR, you will recieve $10 off and a portion of the pay-per-view will then go to the fighters.

The main event is a pro fight between Emerald Park’s Lorenzo “El Diablo” Celis (4-2), and Lethbridge’s Cal Kostinuik (1-1).

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Blue Sky: @nigelmaxwell.bsky.social