In a room above the Griffith Law Office in downtown International Falls, two Mixed Martial Arts fighters with Borderland Combat Sports have been preparing to battle inside a cage this weekend.

On Saturday, Terry “Full Throttle” Carmody, of Emo, Ontario, and Paul Bouvier, of Fort Francis, Ontario, are scheduled to compete in their second amateur fights in the “King of the Cage” event at the Northern Lights Casino in Walker.

“We start our fight preparation approximately 12 weeks out from the actual fight,” said Pete Benedix, an MMA fighter himself who heads up the training at Borderland Combat Sports. “We train really, really hard with grappling, wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and boxing.”

Benedix said MMA fighters need to have the cardiovascular conditioning to be able to go three five-minute rounds in non-title fights.

“We will train to get their heart rate up to approximately the high 180s to the low 190s (in beats per minute) for five straight minutes...,” he said. “Once you get that heart rate up at that level, then what we do is get that rest period, and then we bring that heart rate down in a matter of 30 seconds, so that’s what we train the body for.”

Benedix said he doesn’t want a fighter with Borderland Combat Sports to lose a fight due to not having the proper cardiovascular conditioning.

“There’s always a chance going in of getting knocked out, getting caught in a submission, but there’s no excuse for running out of gas in a fight,” he said.

Carmody, 22, has a 1-0 record as an amateur. He won his first fight in May on a first-round submission. Saturday’s fight is against Jake Juvland, who is also 1-0, in the 170-pound division.

Upon winning this Saturday, Benedix said he believes Carmody would be able to turn professional after one more amateur fight this fall.

Carmody said he has been involved in competitive sports in the past, such as hockey, and began MMA training at Borderland Combat Sports last September.

“If somebody’s got a fight coming up, we’re here 5-6 days a week,” he said. “People have to take a day off for rest in between — make sure their body recovers — but we’re here for anywhere from an hour to two and a half hours a night when we train.”

Carmody said the “Full Throttle” nickname he uses while fighting was thought up by Benedix.

“Pete just walked in one day and said, ‘You know what, I’ve got a great name for you...Terry ‘Full Throttle’ Carmody,’” he said. “I didn’t have a nickname...and it seemed to fit the bill.”

Carmody said his preparation for Saturday’s event includes losing enough weight to be able to fight at 170 pounds from around 185 pounds he was at during the middle of last week.

“I haven’t been at 170 pounds since I was back in grade 9...,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve ever cut this kind of weight.”

Carmody said he would like to continue training as an MMA fighter as long as he is physically able to do so.

“I love doing it,” he said. “It’s something I want to stick with.”

Bouvier, who is 0-1 as an amateur after losing his first fight by a submission, is slated to fight Vern Sullivan, who is 0-2, at a “catchweight” of 180 pounds.