MMA fighter Will Fleury is itching to get back in action and continue to ride the wave of momentum that he has built.
The 33-year-old, who boasts a creditable record of 11 wins and just three losses, last fought in August for the Professional Fighting League (PFL), where he defeated Anthony Salome by unanimous decision. With that win in Cardiff, Fleury picked up his fourth victory on the spin.
With a wave of momentum behind him, the SBG star was hoping to continue his rich vein of form and was eyeing up at least one more fight this year. However, a string of issues has prevented this from happening and in all likelihood, 2023 will be the next time the light-heavyweight will be in action.
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"I would love to give you a return date, but I can’t,” said Fleury, “The PFL have been very wishy-washy with what they’ve been telling me.
“It looks unlikely I’ll fight again this year and it’s killing me. Especially because I’ve got a good run of momentum behind me, and things are good.
“I want to get out there and make my legacy, make some money, and get going. I feel like I’m being held back so it’s frustrating in a way.”
2022 was meant to be a banner year in the career of Fleury. And while it started off excellently with the aforementioned win over Salome and another victory over Tarek Suleiman, the year looks as though it is going to end with something of a whimper as opposed to a bang.
This wasn’t the plan and certainly not what was expected. With victory in August, Fleury qualified for Next year’s lucrative PFL Million Dollar Championship, which as the name suggests guarantees the winner a whopping $1,000,000.
But doubts linger over the future of the tournament and to make matters even more confusing, a European tournament is also being introduced by the PFL. With all this mystery, even Fleury himself isn’t sure what the future holds.
“I originally qualified for this million-dollar tournament next year, they’re now saying they’re not 100% sure that they are going to do that.
“Now they’re saying there’s a European tournament next year.
“Look, whatever happens, I’ll be smashing it anyway. I’m ready for every opportunity that comes, but I want to know what that opportunity is fairly soon because it’s getting a bit frustrating.”
When it comes to adversity, Fleury won’t have to look very far for inspiration. In teammate Ciaran Clarke, he has living breathing proof of how important patience, toughness, and determination are in the sport. The Drogheda man battled his way through dozens of amateur fights and a string of dangerous opponents on the professional stage.
Clarke’s most recent outing was at Bellator 285 in September when he battled back from the brink to choke out Rafael Hudson in a gutsy come-from-behind victory, the kind of win that has become Clarke’s calling card. For Fleury, who has been around Clarke for years, that grit and never say die attitude is on display every day in the gym
“That toughness doesn’t just happen. That’s years and years of work on that lad’s part.
“He kept struggling for years when it looked like nothing was going to happen out of that when it looked like it was some pipe dream in his head.
“I can’t but admire that, that’s mental toughness, that’s true mental toughness to get to that point. So, I’m not surprised at all when he gets in adversity in a fight and comes through it.
“That lad has been through adversity every step of the way and he kept backing himself. Of course, he’s going to back himself in a fight.”
Fleury himself is no stranger to adversity. He showed toughness and determination In his last fight camp when he suffered a ‘career-threatening’ ankle injury and broke his hand just a couple of weeks before his most recent fight. Now faced with the task of waiting, patience is the name of the game.
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