SPRING, TX, March 26, 2013 – They call him “One-Pace Jace.” At least that’s the feedback I’ve gotten from fighters who’ve trained with Coach/Fighter Jace Pitre over at Team Tooke in North Houston. It seems his training (and fighting) style both mirror his personality – which implies to him and everybody around him that anything worth doing is worth doing well and putting your whole heart into.
“I’m someone who loves the sport…every aspect of it, from training, to fighting, to teaching new guys. I constantly want to get better and evolve, and I’ll do whatever it takes to accomplish that.”
Around the sport for over five years now, Jace last fought back in 2009 – taking on Jesus Rivera for Legacy FC. He lost that fight by split decision (no excuses against a great opponent, he says) and subsequently took roughly the next three years off to work in the oil fields of North Dakota.
Now don’t get us wrong, he’s been plenty busy since that time. He’s been very much a part of Houston MMA. Together with partner Eric Garcia, he’s helmed the Cage Combat amateur MMA shows in North Houston and just concluded his 13th event this past Saturday. He also opened up his Team Tooke-Jace Pitre MMA in Spring, TX just this past year. And yet his own desire to compete never went away. So after three years off and getting over a chronic neck injury he returns to active competition this Saturday versus Hossan Walker at the Big Dawg: Best of Both Worlds event happening this Saturday down in Galveston.
“My mindset is just to win this fight,” Jace says about his comeback fight. “I’m focused, and trying to just let everyone know I’m still here. I still have something left in the tank.”
Regarding his opponent, Jace considers Hossan Walker a tough amateur looking to make a splash as a pro. Walker finished up 4-1 in the amateur ranks including wins over two Team Tooke fighters in his last two fights. His lone loss was to fighter-turned-law student Craig Gardner back in 2010 – the same Craig Gardner with a win over current Legacy 170 lbs. champion Jeff Rexroad. It’s safe to say he’s pushover but Pitre isn’t deterred. He welcomes the challenge just like he would tell any of his own fighters to. And as it always is, personal preparation is key.
“Training has been tough, it’s easier to hold the pads than to hit them. <laughs> I’ve been training like a nomad man, all over. R-1 MMA with Matt Grice, Jerrod Card, James Head, Jerrod Saunders… In Austin TX, with Tim Kennedy, Yves Edwards, and I trained a little with Colton Smith, and of course my regular guys ( who are anything but regular) Andrew Craig, Eric Garcia, Chris Lopez, Jose Llanas, Travis Tooke, etc… It’s been good but in the end it doesn’t matter who you’ve trained with or where. It doesn’t matter because your opponent has most likely trained with killers too. You just have to perform on fight night.”
“He (Hossan) wants to test the pro waters, so that’s what we are going to do. I’m going to test him. I took the fight because I didn’t want to wait all the way to July for legacy, Rocky hit me up and I told him yes.”
Now that he’s coming back, should we expect for Pitre to make like his teammate Andrew Craig and try to make a run at the UFC? It’s possible but don’t count on it.
“I’ve seen these guys give up everything they have for the dream,” he says about that type of run – a pipe dream for most looking to make it in this sport. “Some make it, most don’t, but the spirit of the fighter runs deep. As for me, I fight for myself, just for the test, not for the money, the money is terrible. As for the fight, I have no predictions. I think I know what he wants to do, but it doesn’t matter as long as my hand is raised at the end of the fight. Nothing man, I’m coming to win and I’ll do whatever it takes to do that.”
