Ben Nguyen Felt Alive During UFC Fight Night 101 Fight

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Ben Nguyen (15-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC) spoke about his love of competing in MMA. He recently picked up an unanimous decision win over Geane Herrera (9-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 101. Here are highlights:

On feeling good during the fight: “I felt alive in there. I just feel like I was in there for once. I went all three rounds, and usually, in my last few fights, in the first round I’m like done, and I’m ready to get out of there. But this time I was comfortable. I felt like I was grounded and I felt that I was in the octagon, for once. There’s a lot of pressure (in fighting), and I just wanted to enjoy it again. This time I felt like I was in there, and I was loving it. I was in there, and I was thinking, and I was doing what I do in the gym every day.”

On sometimes questioning why he’s doing it: “I think it was just determination and just wanting to enjoy it. I remember being in training and having a really (expletive) day, and I was like, ‘Why do I do this?’ And the next day I was like, ‘This is why I do it.’ I love martial arts. I love being in here. I love just standing in front of someone and just throwing punches and getting hit with punches myself. I love this. I don’t know why. I don’t know why anyone would want to do this, but I love it.”