After a tough fought battle with cancer, Nick Felber made his way back into the Octagon, ready to take on the toughest fighters in Mixed Martial Arts.
“I want my name up in lights,” Felber said.
Diagnosed with cancer in 2021, Felber went through four operations to have it successfully removed. Now cancer free, Felber made it his life’s journey to make it in the professional scene of Mixed Martial Arts.
Originally from Cochrane, 17-year-old Felber was looking for an outlet after going through personal hardships. Felber joined a gym in Calgary, igniting the start of his MMA career.
In October 2021, Felber noticed a growth on his hip, close to the glute. Thinking it was a cyst, Felber ultimately made the decision to have it examined.
“It turned out to be a sarcoma tumor,” he said. “They told me I needed to cut it out right away.”
Felber decided to wait for the surgery until after his December amateur fight. At this point, he was ranked one of the top five amateur fighters for his weight class in the nation.
In January of 2022, Felber had his first operation.
“Once they cut it out, that's when they discovered there was still more in there,” Felber said. “I had my second surgery at the start of March. I found out a week after that surgery that there were cancer cells going inwards towards the fascia and actual muscle tissue.”
Shortly after, Felber went in for his third surgery the following June. Believing he was in the clear, Felber booked his pro debut for the upcoming December.
Like the year prior, Felber went for a check-up in October, only to hear he would need to have the entire fascia removed from his glute. He underwent his fourth and final surgery December 2022.
But Felber bounced back quickly, making a full recovery in five months, and fighting his pro debut in June 2023.
“I was constantly working to get back into a position to fight,” Felber said. “Obviously taking a year and a half off of fighting made my first weigh cut for my first pro fight very difficult.”
Felber lost his pro debut, however, he received comforting news after his summer check-up came back cancer free.
Recently, Felber has seen success in the Octagon after winning in Burlington, Ont. against one of the best teams in Canada. His next fight is scheduled for February 3, where he will compete in Fight League Atlantic in Moncton N.B.
Seeing his hard work pay off, Felber said it has been a dreamlike experience.
“To come back and actually be walking every day in the path I set for myself, being able to see the hard work pay off, being able to see my future being laid out and bestowed in front of me, it's very surreal,” Felber said.
Felber also has experience with the Canadian military. He left in 2019 but said going through military training for infantry and battle school made him much more resilient, providing him an advantage over his opponents.
“I honestly give a lot of credit to the experiences I had through military training, that actually helped me through the cancer process, because it made me a much more resilient human being,” Felber said.
It gives me an advantage over most of these fighters because I live under the mindset that nothing can hurt me now.”
Showing gratitude for his family and their support, Felber said they have been by his side through his entire journey. He said he owes it to them and himself to make an impact in the world of professional Mixed Martial Arts.
Bringing it back to his roots, Felber hopes to gain sponsorships through the town of Cochrane and build important connections with the town he was raised in.
“I want to gain hometown support and represent a bit more of Cochrane,” Felber said. “That would be really great.”
