Two mixed martial arts athletes from Timmins are headed to a big event in Quebec City in May.

They'll be fighting on a main card as part of a night of televised MMA bouts that are just one step away from the main Ultimate Fighting Championship circuit.

At the Total Martial Arts Academy in Timmins, the rules are simple: train hard, train passionately and train with respect.

Rules that have carried two local fighters to the big leagues, both signing deals with TKO, one of Canada’s largest UFC promoters.

Maggie Poulin is one of those mixed martial artists.

"TKO is an under-league, underneath UFC, so if you actually have a fight pass, a UFC fight pass, you'll be able to see me on TV as well." said Poulin.

For 19 years, she has committed herself to a passion for martial arts, and now she's headed to the fight of her life, a talented fighter in an industry traditionally dominated by men.

"It’s so hard for a woman just be recognized in this sport. There's not too many, so it's really hard to make matches." said Poulin.

For young women like her training partner, Brooke Kirley, Poulin is an inspiration.

"I'm so proud of her, honestly, she deserves this. She works her ass off day and night and she really deserves it." said Kirley.

Poulin won't be headed to Quebec City alone. Training mate Terry Lemaire is also gearing up for his televised debut.

"I’m trying to compete at the highest level of mixed martial arts right now, so obviously the dream for everybody is to get to the UFC." said Lemaire.

The TKO competition is a huge step for both fighters, hoping to build on their undefeated records.

"There's a lot of community support behind us here and it's great. You need a community to grow in any kind of sport." said Lemaire.

And the community has every reason to be excited; this is a first for Timmins.

Matthew Poulin is the head coach and owner of Total Martial Arts Academy.

"To my knowledge, I think we're the only ones up from Timmins. I think the next closest people that got signed to TKO were in Belleville or Ottawa, so that's amazing for the north and that shows that we're doing it right, right?" said the academy owner.

The first fight is still over a month away, but both fighters will be putting some serious training time in, eager to prove that northern contenders pack a serious punch, hoping to inspire others to follow in their footsteps.