EDMONTON – Sheldon Westcott made it all the way to the finals on the Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs Australia reality series, but he lost his final fight to Elias Theodorou of Toronto.
The two Team Canada Mixed Martial Arts fighters faced off in the ring Wednesday night in Quebec City.
Westcott, of St. Albert, came out strong, but, as the fight continued, lost steam, and was overwhelmed by fellow middleweight Theodorou.
Theodorou got the Technical Knock-out (TKO) 4:41 into the second round.
“This is honestly the greatest moment of my life,” he said after the win.
Westcott, a homegrown Mixed Martial Arts fighter, felt confident going into TUF Nations Finale after doing well on the reality TV show.
This season of the competition reality show sees athletes from two teams – Australia and Canada – face each other in the ring for a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
His semi-final victory aired last Wednesday, and he watched it with his coaching staff, family, friends and Global Edmonton.
“This is almost as important as after I won the fight,” said Westcott, last Wednesday. “This is the only time I’ve gotten to celebrate because it’s been a secret for the last three months now.”
“It was a mixture of excitement and pride seeing Sheldon finally realize his dream,” said Guy Lefebvre, coach and owner of Complete Fitness and Martial Arts in St. Albert, where Westcott trains.
For the semi-final match, in a battle against Australia’s last remaining fighter, 29-year-old Westcott dominated his opponent and won in a mere 41 seconds of the first round.
“That’s my style,” explained Westcott. “This is now my fifth fastest win.”
“In my fighting style, I risk losing a fight in order for me to finish it.”
Shara Vigant, Westcott’s strength and conditioning coach, wasn’t surprised by how quickly he ended the semi-final fight.
“He works his butt off every time,” she said. “He’s got amazing work ethic.”
“I knew he was going to do well, but he did excellent tonight. I couldn’t expect anything more.”
However, Westcott couldn’t breathe a word about the win to anyone until the episode aired.
The show was filmed three months ago but he signed a $5 million confidentiality agreement to keep the outcome of the match a secret until last Wednesday night.
“Some people got really creative in how they asked me. One of my buddies was like, ‘hey I’m getting engaged, it’s on the 15th of April, can you make it out?’ And I’m sitting there like, ‘you don’t have a girlfriend.’”
For Westcott’s team, it was a relief to see the results of his work.
“I’m really excited to see him fight in the UFC, where he belongs,” said Lefebvre. “I cannot wait for people to finally see him. He belongs on the map.”
“All of us that train with him, all of us that know him, the sky’s the limit.”
“I don’t do this alone,” said Westcott.
He credited the support of his coaches, training team, family and friends, as well as the province he calls home.
“It’s what we do. This is what Alberta really is: we fight, we work hard, and we get to enjoy it a little bit too.”
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