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Brandon Girtz Hoping To Come Back From His Recent Injuries

February 24, 2017 | Posted by Joseph Lee
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In an interview with MMA Junkie, Brandon Girtz (14-5 MMA, 6-3 BMMA) spoke about his upcoming fight with Fernando Gonzalez (25-14 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) at Bellator 174. The event happens at the WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma on March 3. Here are highlights:

On his injury setbacks: “It’s been a tough couple years riddled with injuries. I want to use the word ‘unlucky,’ but things happen for a reason. I’ve had two ACL surgeries in the last two-and-a-half years. Those will take some time off you. I don’t think I’m injury prone (as some have called me), just some bad stuff happened and I’ve been unlucky. Once I get on a roll, we saw what happened when I beat Melvin (Guillard) and I knocked out Derek (Campos). Once my confidence starts going, I’m going to be a very hard man to deal with. If I can stay healthy for longer than a year, things are going to be looking great for me.”

On the struggle to come back: “It’s not always the physical part, it’s the mental part. You see great athletes who don’t come back from injuries, and it’s not necessarily because of their body, it’s because they mentally couldn’t come back. That’s the biggest hurdle. My first ACL surgery was fairly easy for me. I’ve always been pretty mentally strong and say things happen for a reason. To get through that one was an easy one. The second one: I’m not going to lie, it was probably the first time in my life I started to get doubt. I didn’t know why it was happening.”

On not staying at 170: “It doesn’t matter how this fight goes; 155 is my division. There might be another opportunity that seems perfect, but 155 is my natural weight class. That’s where I need to be fighting. I’m definitely not a big, huge 155er that’s jumping up to 170 to make my life easier. That’s not the case. When they offered me this fight I wanted the fight, and I look at is as a great matchup. Fernando is a great fighter with a ton of a heart and tough dude, but he’s not a massively tall fighter. He’s not a wrestler that’s just as good as me that can impose his wrestling. He’s a brawler, and it’s a good matchup for me. I think the difference here is going to be the speed.”

article topics :

Brandon Girtz, Joseph Lee