Tristar staple: UFC Winnipeg a 17-year journey for 'Rat Garbage' Mandel Nallo

Founded in 1991, Tristar Gym has proven to be a thing of the past, present and future.

Coach Firas Zahabi purchased the Montreal gym in 2008 from Alexandre Choko, who bought it from Conrad Pla, Michel Lavallée and Ron Di Cecco. While it was already quite established, Zahabi would take it to the next level.

Less than two years after Zahabi took over, a young fighter with a couple amateur fights walked through door on an invite from a local promoter who thought he was good enough to give training with the pros a shot. So Nallo called his buddies and let them know he was bailing on plans to take a little trip up to the lake to drink that weekend.

Nallo wasn't intimidated. He was starstruck and excited. He saw Ivan Menjivar and David Louiseau. There was Yves Jabouin. Of course, Nallo recalls the aura of Georges St-Pierre in his prime, soaked in sweat, setting the tone with his unmatched work output.

Before long, Nallo established himself as an integral figure in the Tristar Gym and culture. He wasn't just seeking out help. His help was being sought out by one of the all-time greats.

"It was indescribable," Nallo told MMA Junkie on Friday. "I stumbled into that as a kid. The best fighter in the world was preparing for fights alongside me. I sparred Georges one round for the (Carlos) Condit camp, and he said I’d be a good body type for him. He flew me to New York to train at Renzo’s for a week when I was 18 or 19. It was truly exceptional. I still remember cab rides to training and going to a Russian spa. It was a special time."

The relationship was symbiotic and special – something it remains to this day, 15 years later. Nicknamed "Rat Garbage" for his abstract Instagram art and T-shirt designs based on roadkill, Nallo doesn't fit the MMA fighter mold now – and he certainly did not back then either, during an era when Tapout shirts, tattoos and piercings dominated the scene.

But Tristar was different. It was MMA counter-culture to a degree. It was more about relationships, loyalty, and respect for the craft. There have been phases. Nallo has seen almost every one of them. But there are many Tristar lifers. Nallo is one.

"I never felt too out of place in Tristar, but in the larger perception of an MMA fighter, definitely I’m a bit of an oddball," Nallo said. "... In the framework of Tristar, we’re all pretty similar. Obviously my interests are different than a guy like Aiemann’s or George’s, but the core of who we are is we love training, we love getting better, and we’re kind of just family guys."