Andre “Touchy” Fili lived up to his nickname, opening up about fighter pay and his OCD during the post-fight interview.
UFC featherweight Andre Fili was emotional after fighting to a no-contest decision against Daniel Pineda at UFC Vegas 30. The decision came after an accidental eye poke from which Pineda was unable to continue. After the fight, Fili shared his disappointment in the fight but went further than anyone expected, discussing his struggles with OCD.
“I’ve really ever talked about this, but I have OCD, like, like to the point where it almost became, like, crippling in the last couple of years,” Fili shared.
“Like I can’t really even go into without being a little embarrassed. Anyone who has ever trained with me can attest to, like, the amount of little ticks and rituals that I have as I’m training. And, it’s been such a f*cking hindrance these past couple of years, and it’s really gotten in my head. I’ve really gotten into my own way with all the obsessive compulsive sh*t.”
Fili continued, “As hard as I worked to get ready for this camp physically, I worked really hard mentally and got the f*ck out of my own way. And I think you saw that.”
The hard work was visible throughout the fight. Fili outstruck Pineda, landing twice as many strikes through a round and a half of action. The first round of the fight could have easily been scored 10-8, and Fili was confident that he would have gotten the finish had the fight continued.
“I really think I would have finished him [Pineda] in that second. And I think I would’ve got a performance bonus. I think I deserved it off the way I was fighting. I’m also pretty annoyed because I’m not an eye poke guy. That was my 30th fight, and I’ve never poked anyone.”
Andre Fili isn’t trying to make waves regarding fighter pay
Fili joins the long list of fighters who agree that fighter pay isn’t great in the world of MMA and that the contracts in the sport, well, suck.
“Sucks bad, but this isn’t some, like, big meta statement about the sport. Like we’re f*cking prize fighters. We’re gladiators. Like to the winner goes the spoils, right? You win your fight. You know what you’re signing up for. You win you’re a fighter, you get twice your money. You really, really win your fight, you get an extra 50 Gs. Like that’s how the sport goes.”
Still, Fili feels that the burden of financial responsibility falls on the fighters as much as on the promotion.
“I’m not calling for some massive recall. I just have a f*cking mortgage to pay,” Fili continued.
“Thankfully I’ve grown up around guys like Danny Castillo and Uriah Faber, who are some of the best examples in this sport of taking fight money and turning it into real money. Cause you see a lot of fighters end up retired with f*cking nothing.”
“Thankfully, my big brothers, the guys who raised me up at Team Alpha-Male taught me about investing and taught me about making smart choices. And it took me a little while to listen. I bought a couple of Harleys first, but you know, I’m being smart with my money.”