CANTON – A SUNY Canton Police officer won his first Mixed Martial Arts bout recently at the St. Lawrence Centre mall in Massena.

Master Martial Arts Instructor Al “Sonny” Duquette of Nicholville said officer Seth Filiatrault competed in his first Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) event and won in his cage-fighting debut.

Filiatrault fought at the venue dubbed ‘Kaged Kombat’ and was held at the St. Lawrence Centre Mall on March 2.

Filiatrault won in 93 seconds of the very first round by referee stopped (TKO) due to strikes.

“Seth has been training here in Nicholville for a number of years now and is simply one of the very best people you can know. He is extremely serious about his martial arts training and is looking to keep fighting inside the cage to see how far he can go in the sport. His dynamic fighting skills inside the cage are exciting. I first met Seth when he was a cadet in the Police Academy three years ago where I taught the academies defensive tactics," Duquette said.  "Seth took a liking to the training and he has been training with me every since. Seth wanted to ‘finish’ this cage match and not leave it in the judges hands, he wanted to win it for his dad, who himself was in the martial arts for quite some times. And he did just that, in flawless fashion.”

Although Duquette closed his martial arts business since his retirement from the St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Detectives Division in August of 2012, he continues to trains law enforcement officers on Saturday and Sundays at 11 a.m. at his dojo in Nicholville.

“ I want to keep the law enforcement officers in the area up to date with the evolution of fighting, it’s great for their protection when forced to deal with what most people have to run away from. It also allows me to stay in a hobby that I have come accustomed to for the last 28 years of my life. It just feels like the right thing to do,"  Duquette said. "Most of our officer students don’t compete, just train. But every once in awhile, I get a young fella like Seth just who just wants to see how good he really is. I make that happen and have fun watching them become successful.”

Area Law Enforcement officers wanting to join Duquette in his MMA training for Law Enforcement can call him at 261-8223.