Issue 163

Worst beat downs, eccentric dress sense and fights of the year from four top pros.

Eryk Anders: Undefeated ex-linebacker with a winning UFC debut

Zach Freeman: Missouri ‘Alter Boy’ from Bellator’s 155lb division

Joe Duffy: Irish UFC lightweight by name and nationality

Adriano Moraes: ONE Championship flyweight ruler

Q. What’s the worst you’ve been beaten up in a fight you’ve won?

Anders:

I really haven’t been beaten up or hit too much in any fight. My bout with Brenden Allen, where I won the LFA title, was the most I’d been hit in any fight.

Freeman:

Once,I was in a fight at a high school party and was hit in the head with a glass beer bottle. I was lucky in how it broke, because I didn’t feel a thing!

Duffy:

I remember when I fought Francis Heagney. I had a cut on the back of my head and my eye, and my re-load didn’t go to well. I was puking in the changing rooms.

Moraes:

Eugene Toquero gave me a flying knee, and man, I almost lost that fight. He broke my nose and my eye swelled up, but I got him at the end of the first round.

What’s the worst advice someone’s given you about fighting?

Anders:

Freeman:

I have been told before to go outside of my comfort zone while in a fight. Lesson learned. Learn to do those types of things during practice...

Duffy:

I remember before one fight in London, an Irish guy said, ‘Why don’t you just give him a wee box in the throat.’ He was funny – I was dying!

Moraes:

My training partners say I’m lazy or I need to give more – I hear that too much!

Who has the worst dress sense in your gym?

Anders:

I’ll go with the top three: Matt Vaughn, Matt Elkins, and the head coach, Chris Connelly. They are going to turn up the heat in sparring after reading this!

Freeman:

Definitely Luis Pena! He looks like a black Bob Ross, and he wears anything from retro pink, to leather-looking Muay Thai pads. Also, he is always dressed in a leotard!

Duffy:

Jesus... maybe me. We do have some quirky lads in the gym, so it depends on your taste. You’re going to get me in trouble here!

Moraes:

Leandro ‘Buscape’ Silva! He has a tough style. Orange, green, blue. You look at him and think, ‘Oh my god!’

What gets your vote for Fight of the Year?

Anders:

I am a fan oft he ladies, so I’m going to have to go with Jessica Andrade and Angela Hill.

Freeman:

No doubt, Darren Elkins’ comeback win over Mirsad Bektic. Watch that fight and tell me you don’t agree.

Duffy:

Even though it was a draw, I actually really liked the Dustin Poirier vs. Eddie Alvarez fight. I thought that was really exciting.

Moraes:

What’s the worst way to lose: KO, submission or decision?

Anders:

I think with KOs or subs: sometimes s**t happens and you get caught or clipped. With decisions, I feel maybe I could have done more so I think decisions are the worst way to lose.

Freeman: