Ruthless Lucas Taylor (Image Credit: VALIENTE FIGHTS/YOUTUBE)

By Marty Hastings

RUTHLESS LUCAS TAYLOR

Kamloops prizefighter Taylor preparing for pivotal Samourai MMA bout

Feb 26, 2026 | 4:26 PM

KAMLOOPS — Lucas Taylor does not want to grow old, look back and have regrets. 

So, last year, at age 31, he began his professional mixed martial arts career, a 5-foot-6, 155-pound bulldog from Kamloops who aims to pressure and maul opponents. 

“It’s not any secret that when I go out to fight, I’m going out to win and I’m going out to finish the fights and go home early,” said Taylor, who trains at Boa Martial Arts. 

“Everything that I do, I’m trying to be the best.” 

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Taylor, the only active professional MMA fighter in Kamloops, is scheduled to fight next at Samourai MMA 18 on March 27 in Laval, Que. 

The tilt is a quarter-final bout in an eight-man tournament, the winner of which will move on to fight for the Samourai bantamweight title. 

“Lots could happen if I win all three of my fights and then the title fight and I dominate and destroy everybody,” Taylor said. “That’s really going to put my name out there.” 

Taylor took up wrestling in high school, a NorKam Secondary graduate who trained under Kamloops Sports Hall of Fame coach Brian Dick in Grade 12. 

“I’ve always been a very competitive person,” Taylor said. “Team sports sort of didn’t really work out for me because some people don’t try as hard as me and I’m a little bit of a try-hard. In wrestling, if I do well it’s because of me. If I do wrong or bad it’s because of me. It was always on me and I love that.” 

Taylor added kickboxing, Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu to his toolbox, honing skills and compiling fighting experience that set him up well for a foray into MMA. 

He posted a 4-0 record in a brief amateur career in 2023 and 2024, earning Okanagan Fighting Championship and Absolute MMA Championship titles along the way. 

Last year, he joined the Samourai MMA ranks, one of the top promotions in Canada and a launching pad to the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Professional Fighters League for those with the chops. 

Taylor, who put his career as an electrician on hold to pursue MMA dreams, won his first pro fight last May, a TKO victory over Alejandro Alvarado-Jimenez.

“It was exactly how it was supposed to go,” Taylor said. “I dominated the entire fight, felt good all the way through and I showcased my skills and let everybody know that Kamloops and Lucas Taylor is someone to look out for.” 

Taylor dropped his second pro bout, succumbing to a rear-naked choke against Isaac Herbert last September. 

“I had a really bad weight cut, which basically destroyed my nervous system and just left me more or less a shell of myself,” Taylor said. “If you talk to anybody who watched the fight who knows me, they’re like, ‘That wasn’t you.’ Fortunately enough, the guy who beat me is in the tournament. So, in a best-case scenario, we meet in the final and I get to avenge that loss.” 

Losses at this stage of Taylor’s pro career are notable blows to hopes of advancing to the top MMA promotions, while wins keep the dream alive. 

Taylor said he can live with whatever happens next. 

He was not willing to live without trying. 

“Right now, I’m the only pro [in Kamloops], but I’ve got lots of guys that are sort of coming up behind me, lots of teammates competing in the amateur scene,” Taylor said. “It’s sort of cool that even though I’m the only pro, I’m sort of leading the path and giving people the idea that they could do it, too.”