Andre Fili thinks he’s found the secret sauce to adding longevity to his career entering Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 290 matchup with Kai Kamaka III.
Fili (25-14 MMA, 13-13 UFC) has been part of the UFC roster since October 2013. Only one fighter has more featherweight appearances than him in company history, and he’s days away from making another walk against Kamaka III (18-8-1 MMA, 2-3-1 UFC) in their main card matchup at Meta APEX in Las Vegas (Paramount+).
At 36, Fili is facing the same questions that inevitably hit all fighters. With three losses in his past four, speculation about the crosspoint between age and performance becomes stronger. Still, though, Fili has a resilient mindset, and argues that the record doesn’t represent the reality.
“What sets me apart from a lot of the guys that are of my generation is they hit a place where they feel they’ve learned everything there is to learn,” Fili told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “I never hit that place. I’m always learning. I’m training with guys who are 19, 20, 21-year-old competition purple belt jiu-jitsu guys, coming up with new sh*t every day. I’m training with young, high-level boxers. I’m training with guys that are in the top of their field, that are a decade younger than me. I turned 36 a few months ago, but I still feel like a kid.”
Fili knows that his nearly 13-year stint on the UFC roster hasn’t come by accident. Despite holding a .500 octagon record, his success rate when it comes to entertaining fans is much higher.
Still, though, he enters the octagon every time with the desire to leave with victory, and he’s going to stay true to himself when he’s locked in with Kamaka III.
“I’m focused on going out and performing to my highest potential,” Fili said. “If that manifests in a very fast knockout, that would be cool. And if that manifests in a really exciting three-round war, that’ll be cool. I’ve got a really sick submission game, too, and nobody has ever seen it. So maybe we’ll see it Saturday. They’re all good options.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Vegas 122’s Andre Fili explains what sets him apart from other aging veterans