Athletes
Journey Newson Sounds Like A Pro
Bantamweight Journey Newson Is Evolving His Game To Find His Footing In His Second Contract
It’s been said that making weight is the fight before the fight. But often, the fight before the fight before the fight is simply getting to the host hotel with a minimum of aches and pains.
“For some fights? Yeah, for sure, I'd be lying if I say it wasn't,” said UFC bantamweight Journey Newson, who faces late replacement Marcus McGhee this Saturday in Las Vegas. “I've definitely been in situations where I was injured through camp, but I just fought through it. It was like, all right, now camp's over and all the hard training is done. You always hear the expression that the camp should be harder than the fight, but now we're done with camp and it's like, okay, I can kind of chill and now all I’ve got to worry about is the weight cut.”
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It's not an ideal situation, but every mixed martial artist has to fight in one way, shape or form in order to get ready to fight. But, at least, after doing this professionally for nearly a decade, Newson is finding it easier to hit that sweet spot in the gym where he’s getting the work in and staying healthy at the same time – physically and mentally.
UFC 247: Journey Newson Knocks Out Pilarte
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UFC 247: Journey Newson Knocks Out Pilarte
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“It feels less stressful these last couple runs, for sure, which is new for me,” said Newson. “The UFC psychiatrist helped me with dealing with mental stress like that, so I'm pretty sure that had something to do with it, but I'm pretty sure age and the fact that I'm 25 fights in, you kind of get used to it and expect stuff like that. So I’d say it gets a little bit easier, definitely, especially if you can control the mental aspect of the game.”
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That pro and amateur experience, which includes five fights in the UFC, gives Newson an edge on most people he’ll meet in the Octagon. Not his original foe, Brian Kelleher, a 38-fight vet with 15 trips to the Octagon under his belt, but there are those who enter the big show with a handful of fights and you have to ask how someone like the 34-year-old Newson feels about that.
“You wonder somewhat until I see them fight and they're pretty good,” he laughs. “It's like, oh, okay, this is why they got signed. But I'm never hating on them.”
That’s a pro talking. Don’t worry about everybody else; just yourself. And Newson made it to the UFC. Now it’s time to start making moves.
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“Where I'm at right now is that I need to find my footing,” he said. “It's like, all right, I’m in the second contract, I'm down one, and I just got to find my footing. My game's kind of changing a little bit and I'm starting to feel like I'm filling in the holes. Hopefully I can start producing it in the next fight and so forth.”
And beyond Saturday night?
“Honestly, just staying on a path that we're on and having the strength to keep going. I’m trying to not slow down, because if I slow down, all these other guys are just going to take my spot.”
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