Jermal Woolridge, the Bermuda kickboxer, will encounter an opponent out of the ordinary when he tops the bill at Teachers Fight Night XVI: Relentless at the Berkeley Institute Gym.

Woolridge, who won a silver medal at the World Wushu Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in November, faces Joey Brozovich, of Canada, who is deaf, on Saturday night.

Brozovich is a former bodybuilder who has a 4-0 record in mixed martial arts. Garon Wilkinson, the Bermuda Sanshou Association president, believes he could be a tricky opponent for Wooldridge.

“We know very little about [Brozovich] besides the obvious which is that he is an MMA fighter and is undefeated,” Wilkinson said.

“What we found out that is different, however, is that he is deaf. We have seen a few of his training videos and in one of his interviews he spoke about his inspirations in the fight world, so this will be a different fight.”

Brozovich draws inspiration from Matt Hamill, the former MMA fighter, who is also deaf, and was a contestant in The Ultimate Fighter III season on television.

Wilkinson and Woolridge, who spent this week training in Canada, have watched footage of Brozovich in action and have been impressed by his strength and agility.

However, as the bout will be a sanshou fight, a martial art Woolridge specialises in, Wilkinson believes the Bermudian will have the advantage, especially in front a home crowd.

“We know [Brozovich] is strong and has spent a lot of time in the weights room because of his bodybuilding background, Wilkinson added.

“In the training videos you can see that he is strong and agile. While Jermal was in Bermuda he was working on the technical side of the sport as well as his strength and cardio because sparring partners at his weight are hard to come by locally.

“Being in Canada will enable him to work on a few things so he will be ready come fight night. To be honest, I think it will come down to technique.

“Jermal is very technical and I think he may have a slight advantage in that regard because the rules are sanshou, not K1 or MMA.”

On the undercard, Bermuda boxer Andre Lamb takes on Nick Hoover, of Canada, while the other kickboxing bout pits Talia Iris, of Bermuda, against Canadian Muay Thai fighter Shelby Marchand.

Entry is $50, with VIP tickets priced at $110.

Part of the proceeds will be donated to the Dante Noel-Simmons Education Fund.

Doors open at 6pm, with the action scheduled to get under way at 7pm.