Featherweight Erion Zekthi will look to claim the vacant amateur Shamrock FC 145 pound title tonight in St. Louis at Shamrock FC: Mayhem as he will meet Cortavious Romious on the fight card coming from the River City Casino.
Zekthi (8-0) started his amateur mixed martial arts career in 2012 and he enters this fight following a decision win in June of last year against Trevor Lanzone at Fight Hard MMA. On Thursday’s edition of “The MMA Report Podcast,” Zekthi was a guest on the show to preview his fight tonight against Romious and talked about the sacrifices he has made to be a fighter.
“Honestly, it’s sacrifice. A lot of people say they want to make it in the sport and a lot of people say they want success in general but they are not willing to sacrifice for it,” Zekthi said. “I can’t tell you how many times I have not gone out with friends and missed parties. Have to decline fun social gathering because I had to put in work. My Monday through Friday, I go to work and train four to five hours a day afterwords.”
“My Saturday and Sunday’s, when everyone else is relaxing and taking it easy, those are my hard spar days,” he continued. “In my eyes, it’s an investment. Just like anything else. The way that school is an investment in my intellectual capital, training is an investment into my physical capital. I am putting in the time now for the fights I want a year or two from now. In my eyes, while everyone else my age might be having that fun and really enjoying life, I am putting in the work as much as I can. I am always the first one in the gym and the last one to leave.”
Check out Zekthi’s complete interview from Thursday’s episode of “The MMA Report Podcast” below and be sure to subscribe to the show on iTunes and Stitcher.