Nick Newell will return to action tomorrow night at WSOF 20 against Joe Condon and it will be his first fight since losing to current lightweight champion Justin Gaethje last year.
The defeat against Gaethje was 480 days ago and it was the first defeat for Newell in his professional MMA career. He is ready to move past that fight and is feeling tremendous heading into tomorrow’s fight card.
“It sucked and I am not going to lie,” Newell said on the WSOF 20 media conference call. “No one likes losing. I won eleven fights to start off my pro career and I was going for my second world title. This one was more prestigious and it was a huge opportunity. It did not go my way.”
“I did what I could to win but it was just not in the cards for that day.I just pushed up a few things and I am back. I feel better and my body feels fantastic. I have never felt this good going into a fight. I am just ready to put this behind me. Obviously, you are only as good as your last fight so I am looking to change that on Friday.”
He will look to get back on the winning track tomorrow against Condon in the co-main event of the fight card coming from the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. While it has been nine months since his last fight, he used the time away from competition to improve on his skills.
“It certainly has not hurt me,” he said. “I feel fantastic. I actually took a step back to improve my technique and improve myself as a fighter. I was basically working on all the things my coaches told me I needed to work on. Things I needed to and just getting better. Sometimes it’s good to take a step back and re-evaluate yourself so you can come back stronger.”
The natural follow up question to Newell saying he used the time off to improve his skills is what in particular has he been working on?
“A ninja never gives away his secrets before a battle.”
Newell will show off what he has been working on tomorrow night at WSOF 20 on NBCSN and a victory over Condon will put him right back into the mix for another shot at the WSOF 155 pound title.