Video (UPDATE) Fort Nelson grappler wins ‘car-jitsu’ title at Northern Combat Invitational

Updated, May 12th, 2:20 p.m. : This story has been amended to correct the winner in the Aiden Hoffmeyer/Noah Kui match. Energeticcity.ca is happy to set the record straight.

FORT NELSON, B.C. — With a hometown crowd and supporters in the audience, a Fort Nelson-based grappler took home a win – and a belt – in a unique variation at the Northern Combat Invitational’s events during the weekend.

Continuing its momentum of showcasing the best in Brazilian jiu-jitsu across northeastern B.C., Northern Combat Invitational (NCI) held its 14th and 15th events during a day-long gathering on Saturday, May 10th.

The daytime show was kids-only, featuring some of the best youth grapplers from Dawson Creek, Chetwynd, Fort Nelson and Grande Prairie, hosted by Fort Nelson BJJ.

However, NCI promoter Clint Parker called the lack of youngsters from other Fort St. John gyms “disappointing.”

“I think some of these [local] gyms would rather go to Edmonton to compete,” said Parker. “We’ve had four or five tournaments in Fort St. John. None of the schools from the area bring their kids.”

Parker estimates around 40 matches took place during the day, which had a daytime festival, with vendors and food trucks throughout.

The main event of NCI 14 was an adult ‘car-jitsu’ matchup, a grappling contest where the venue of combat is a car.

Refereed by Parker himself, the open-weight contest saw Fort Nelson BJJ’s Marcel Rains take the match over Dawson Creek MMA’s Conan Fowler by seat-belt choke. 

The win means Rains is the inaugural NCI car-jitsu champion – setting the stage for a champion-versus-champion matchup in the night-time main event.

At night, the Phoenix Theatre took centre stage for NCI 15, featuring 13 matchups including athletes from Parker’s Northern Combat Club.

Rains was once again the main event, facing Marc Schaefer in a 14-minute contest.  

True to his nickname of Mullet Daddy, Parker said Schaefer “got the crowd riled up” with his entrance, and he defeated Rains by taking a decision victory, improving to 16 wins and just one loss in NCI.

“[Marc] is very good,” said Parker. “But honestly I was impressed with Marcel. He gave him a very good fight.  No shame with Marcel, but Marc’s quite a stud.”

Two other title fights were on the card, including Parker’s students Aiden Hoffmeyer and Noah Kui for the NCI lightweight title.

Parker described watching the contest as “like watching your two kids fight,” with Hoffmeyer getting the submission victory.

Having held shows since 2022, Parker said he was impressed with the hospitality Fort Nelson showed the fighters.

“When we go into town, they are showing our events on a big screen,” said Parker. “There were posters all over for our event. Boston Pizza sponsored all the food for our fighters. It’s kind of what keeps bringing me back to Fort Nelson.”

The next NCI event will be in Fort St. John on Saturday, September 27th at the Royal Canadian Legion at 10103 105th Avenue.

For more details about NCI, visit Northern Combat Club’s Facebook page.