Phil De Fries is the world’s most dominant MMA champion right this moment.
The KSW heavyweight titleholder appears to increase his reign Saturday as he goes for his twelfth straight championship protection when he takes on undefeated Arkadiusz Wrzosek at KSW 107 in Poland. And all of this was made potential by remedy and medicine.
The identical Englishman who couldn’t hold a optimistic document within the UFC greater than a decade in the past went on to change into a ending machine, and he’s now proud to look within the rear-view mirror and see the tortuous highway he needed to navigate.
“After I fought within the UFC I used to be sort of strolling the inexperienced mile each struggle,” De Fries instructed MMA Combating. “I used to be terrified. I assumed I’m gonna get beat, and I wasn’t superb due to it, as a result of I all the time second guessed myself.”
De Fries turned knowledgeable MMA fighter in 2009 and in lower than two years he was referred to as to hitch the UFC. The 7-0 teenager, then simply 25 years outdated, walked out in entrance of the Birmingham crowd to win a call over Rob Broughton in his debut at UFC 138, however misplaced in simply 43 seconds to future champion Stipe Miocic shortly after. He beat fellow English heavyweight Oli Thompson months later earlier than struggling back-to-back knockouts to Todd Duffee and Matt Mitrione that put an finish to his UFC profession.
What adopted was De Fries reserving fights wherever he may within the hunt for cash and alternative. In 2015, Thomas Denham, a journeyman with a 5-6 document, defeated him by knockout, leaving De Fries in disbelief. He was coping with all types of points outdoors the cage and all of it acquired worse from there.
“I didn’t even know nervousness was a situation,” De Fries stated. “I didn’t know I had a situation as a result of by means of my not-so-nice upbringing, I all the time had nervousness and I didn’t know I had something improper with me. I used to be simply so anxious. After I acquired kicked out of the UFC, I turned sort of an alcoholic. I in all probability did, like, on the pageant scenes, I used to be into the medicine and issues, and I used to be simply beginning getting actually unhealthy.
“I used to be getting so anxious, I couldn’t depart the home. I’d, like, depart the home, verify the door was locked, or then I stroll 5 steps and [think], ‘Did I lock the door? Did the fuel flip off?’ I ended up getting a digicam put in in my bed room so I may take a look at my canine once I was at work. I used to be apprehensive about individuals stealing my canine. And folks have been like, ‘Phil, this isn’t regular habits. You’re insane.’ I Googled ‘irrational concern of all the pieces’ and it stated nervousness, and I used to be like, ‘I’ve heard of tension.’ And I learn the signs and I assumed, ‘You’ve acquired nervousness, you’ve had nervousness your complete life.’”
De Fries admits he reached some extent the place he thought he would by no means be capable to struggle once more.
Worse, that there was no level dwelling anymore.
“I used to be fairly depressed as nicely, you already know? I used to consider killing myself quite a bit,” De Fries stated. “I used to assume, ‘Ought to I’ve killed myself? Is it higher than simply being scared on a regular basis?’ However then I’d drink, get drunk, and the nervousness would go away for a little bit bit. However the subsequent the following day it’d be twice as worse. I used to be actually, actually, actually fairly unhealthy. I may have killed myself. I used to be in a really, very darkish place for very long time.”
“After I acquired crushed within the native scene by like a journeyman form of factor, [a fight] I ought to have received and I fought terribly, I acquired knocked out, I sort of stop for a yr,” he continued. “That’s once I actually began ingesting lots. However there’s been like two or 3 times in my profession the place I went, ‘If I lose this struggle, I’m accomplished.’ And it’s all the time labored out for us, you already know? And now I’m on the trajectory and it’s modified my life. I’m incomes nicely, I’m having nice huge fights in huge stadiums. It’s so simply may have been the opposite method, and I may have simply quit and went again to work. I had my unhealthy luck once I was youthful with my upbringing, however I really feel like I’ve acquired a greater luck now.”
The heavyweight credit remedy and medicine for his restoration, permitting him to “take pleasure in strolling into an enormous stadium, 15,000 individuals there, slapping their fingers” to observe him struggle one other human being contained in the locked cage. De Fries stated he hasn’t misplaced a struggle since he acquired the prescription from a physician, and admits he’s afraid to let go of the capsules.
“The physician needs me to return off remedy however I’m a lot happier, my revenue is occasions by 10, I’m world champion,” De Fries stated. “I’m gonna get my profession accomplished, do 4 extra years possibly, retire, then possibly try to come off the remedy. I attempted to return off it earlier than however unexpectedly, increase, got here again and acquired me. I’m fairly scared to return off the remedy simply but. However I do know it’s one thing I need to beat sooner or later, you already know? So after the combating’s accomplished and I don’t should struggle individuals anymore, my life can be much less annoying. I’ll come off it will definitely.”
“I don’t even know why I fought individuals. It was horrible,” he continued. “I didn’t just like the coaching. The fights have been terrifying. however for some motive I assumed I all the time wished to be a fighter. However now I’ve acquired the nervousness dysfunction beneath management I benefit from the life. It’s nice. Sparring is nice. I’m smiling within the gymnasium. I’m smiling once I stroll the cage. It’s nonetheless scary, however I try to take pleasure in it as finest I can. However I’m fairly glad I had these days as a result of I feel it’s a little bit bit scary nonetheless, however like 10 occasions higher than what it was, you already know?”
De Fries knocked out Michal Andryszak to win the vacant KSW title in April 2018, his debut within the group, and has since crushed 11 males in a row throughout Europe. The checklist contains UFC veterans like Duffee, Darko Stosic and Augusto Sakai, and an unimaginable run of eight finishes in 11 title defenses.
Wrzosek, his opponent in the primary occasion of KSW 107 in Gdansk, is an area veteran with 6-0 document in MMA and in depth kickboxing profession, capped off by a knockout win over the legendary Badr Hari in GLORY. De Fries doesn’t anticipate to out-strike Wrzosek, and wonders how prepared he’s for this stage of competitors when all martial arts are mixed.
“He hasn’t been checked on the bottom but and I feel I’m the man to verify him,” De Fries stated with amusing. “I haven’t acquired higher hanging than him, however I can struggle MMA higher than him. You possibly can pretend a takedown after which can land photographs off the takedown. Appear like [Kamaru] Usman beat [Jorge] Masvidal, Johny Hendricks knocked out a great deal of strikers. They should respect the shot a lot that they’ve let their fingers down so you may generally get them. So a knockout is feasible for me, however I can be taking it to the bottom the primary occasion I get.
“It’s onerous to say [how good his grappling is], no one’s seen him on the ground. I don’t know what he’s like, however the most effective grapplers on the planet can’t dangle with me on the ground in MMA. If I get on high of you, it doesn’t matter who you might be, you’re having a extremely unhealthy time [laughs].”
