UFC vet Chuck “Cold Steel” O’Neil will return to middleweight action on March 11 at CES MMA 33 in Rhode Island. Chuck is keeping us up to date with how things are going leading up to the fight with “The Cold Steel Files”.
With t-minus 10 days, give or take, until Fight Day, I’m hungrier to fight than I’ve ever been.
But that hunger, for me, is a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, it fuels me to work as hard as I can so I’m as prepared as I can be for when the cage door locks, March 11 at Twin River Casino, live on AXS TV Fights.
Conversely, that fire can also put you over the line, where injuries spring up and throw a wrench in your plans.
I’ve always stayed in shape and pushed myself in the gym, whether I’ve had a fight on the calendar or not, so it’s hard for me to taper off on the intensity as my fights approach.
Thankfully, my boxing coach “Diamond” Dave Keefe looks out for me there.
As Fight Night approaches, he has me sparring and training smarter, so my chances of getting injured are diminished.
As Dave says, the hay is in the barn already. I’ve done my work and now it’s just a matter of staying healthy and sharp heading into Fight Night.
I’m my own biggest critic, so the voice telling me that I’m not working hard enough is always loud in my ear. Because of that — and a lot of other reasons — I’m very grateful for the guidance of Dave, who makes sure I don’t overdo it.
I haven’t talked about it much, because I don’t want to excuse my performance in my most recent fight. But I suffered a pretty serious rib injury just a few weeks out from my fight with Daniel Vizcaya and should’ve probably backed out of the fight.
I’ve been injured going into fights and I’ve been perfectly healthy heading into battle. It’s now more of a priority than ever to stay healthy so I can fight my best.
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Watch O’Neil vs. Olson and the rest of the CES MMA 33 fight card live on AXStv on Friday, March 11.