From the Octagon to ATVs + Video

ATV riding is a great way to unwind after a long week of working. But when you have one of the most physically taxing and intense jobs in the world, that time spent enjoying the trails can mean even more.

Miesha Tate, former UFC women’s bantamweight champion, and Bryan Caraway, UFC men’s bantamweight contender, were able to escape the grind of a fighter’s life this summer with a powersports vacation in Ontario, Canada. The trip came just three weeks after Tate lost her UFC championship and gave her a chance to recharge.

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“I live a very busy lifestyle – I live in Las Vegas and I’m constantly around people. So when I want to escape somewhere, I really want to escape,” says Tate. “Coming up to Ontario, it’s something I’d wanted to do for some time because I’ve always heard how beautiful it was up here and how amazing and surreal it is.”

Bryan Caraway and Miesha Tate came to Ontario for a little fun and relaxation.

While ATV riding is fairly new to Tate, she grew up with a love of the outdoors.

“I was a bit of a wild child. I was definitely very outdoorsy,” says Tate. “I was the little girl that had scuffed up elbows and twigs in her hair and dirt under my fingernails because I was outside as much as possible.”

Miesha Tate gets some instruction at SMART Adventures.

Tate and Caraway made their way to Horseshoe Resort, about an hour north of Toronto, for a little relaxation and some dirt bike training at nearby SMART Adventures. Caraway has been riding dirt bikes since he was seven years old and was able to take advantage of SMART Adventures’ access to some fantastic singletrack trails. He even got a chance to play around on a trials bike, tackling some of the many obstacles at the training facility.

Caraway plays around on a trials bike.

After the two-wheel training, the vacationing fighters had much more exploring to do and made their way north to see what else Ontario had to offer.

“One stop I really enjoyed was at Backcountry Cottages in Haliburton, Ontario. I just thought it was honestly the perfect getaway,” says Tate. “It felt like a little, mini home. It had a kitchen and a gorgeous view of the lake. That’s also where I got to take the four-wheeler (a Yamaha Kodiak 700) out for the first time and really get back into some very aggressive trails in the woods. I thought it was just amazing.”

Miesha Tate pilots a Yamaha Kodiak through the mud in Haliburton.

“Right from the cottage we were able to take off and ten feet later you’re in the best, most beautiful, wonderful trails that you could ever possibly see,” says Caraway. “Mud bogs, trees, roots, rock crawling – whatever you wanted it was there.”

Even more ATV riding was on the menu and the pair traveled to Mattawa in Northeastern Ontario to explore the Voyageur Multi-Use Trail System (VMUTS). With more than 200 miles of signed and marked trails, this is one of our favorite spots to ride in Ontario.

Tate and Caraway cruise down the VMUTS trails.

Not satisfied with simply riding off-road, Tate and Caraway decided to ride off-land entirely. With a pair of Yamaha WaveRunners at their disposal, they zipped around scenic Turtle Lake

“One of the most memorable moments for me [was] when I was out on Turtle Lake and I’m on the WaveRunner and there’s no one in front of me. The water was like glass. It looked like no one had touched it,” says Tate. “You couldn’t see a house in sight; you couldn’t see a person in sight. It just looked like I was in the middle of some undiscovered place.”

Tate and Caraway ripped it up on Turtle Lake on Yamaha WaveRunners.

Before long, Miesha Tate and Bryan Caraway had to get back to Las Vegas and the daily grind, but they vow to return in the winter for some snowmobiling.