Nick Newell is back, once again fighting for his UFC dream
Nick Newell will return to competition Friday in Hartford, Connecticut, nearly one year after he came up short in a bid to win a UFC contract.
Newell (14-2), a congenital amputee, will face Antonio Castillo Jr. (9-9) in a show promoted by CES MMA, a regional company in the Northeast. The 33-year-old Newell, a former World Series of Fighting competitor, fought in July 2018 on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, which awards UFC contracts to some winners. But Newell suffered a decision loss to Alex Munoz.
That bout was widely viewed as Newell’s best — and perhaps last — chance at making his way to the UFC. Newell was born with a left arm that extends just past his elbow. In 2012, UFC president White said he would never consider signing Newell, but ultimately he gave him a shot in the DWTNCS.
Newell spoke to ESPN ahead of his comeback fight, addressing whether he still believes the UFC is in his future.
ESPN: Why haven’t you fought since the loss to Munoz 11 months ago?
Newell: First off, I wanted to get better. The wrestling game has changed. I graduated from a wrestling college 10 years ago, and I was a good wrestler. I’ve always been a good wrestler. I’ve been the better wrestler in all of my fights. I have a black belt in jiu-jitsu and I’ve been focused on striking, and I kind of got away from wrestling. I reignited my passion for wrestling. In my last fight, I felt I had a chance at a submission and I was winning the striking, but I got out-grappled and controlled, and that bothered me.
Second, my wife was pregnant. It was our first child, and I really wanted to make sure I was there for her physically and emotionally through that process. Once my son was born, I wanted to have some time to get to know him and enjoy it, but I was training the whole time, getting better the whole time.
“If you look at my fight with Justin Gaethje, I did better against him than two people who are top 10 in the world.” Nick Newell
ESPN: How did this fight with the CES promotion come together?
Newell: CES is a big promotion in the Northeast. They are really the only promotion that gets the best guys to fight each other. I’ve cornered a lot of fighters here, and I like the way they conduct themselves. They were having a show in my home state of Connecticut and reached out to see if I was available, and I was.
I reached out to Bellator MMA when they had a show here in February, and I don’t know, I guess they weren’t interested, which is fine. I’m not gonna dwell on it. I haven’t heard anything about an offer from PFL. I’m going to fight for people who want me to fight for them, and I’m going to win.
ESPN: For nearly 10 years, you’ve expressed your dream is to fight in the UFC. What is the status of that dream?
Newell: I talked with [UFC matchmaker] Sean Shelby after the DWTNCS fight, and they liked the way I fought. He told me to go get a win, and that he thinks the ESPN broadcast is a good fit for me. I have to go out and win fights. I can’t go into the UFC on a loss. Hopefully, he was telling me the truth and I can win this fight and get into the UFC.
I have a good record at 14-2. I’ve beaten a lot of good opponents. I’m hoping that this performance will get the biggest shows calling. I know I’m good enough. I had a bad night back in July. That’s the way the game is. No one is on point every single day.
ESPN: What would you say to anyone who believes the majority of your wins are against lesser competition, and when you did fight at a higher level, you came up short?
Newell: I was supposed to fight a guy with a 17-5 record on Friday; now I’m fighting a guy with a record not as good because he was a short-notice replacement. If you look at the records of opponents I’ve beat, some of them have really good records. But the only way to fight UFC-caliber fighters is in the UFC, so you don’t know unless you’re there. But I train with UFC fighters and I know I can hang. I have also beat tougher opponents than other guys in the UFC. If you look at my fight with Justin Gaethje [a loss in 2014], I did better against him than two people who are top 10 in the world.
ESPN: Did you learn anything through your experience on DWTNCS, just from the sense of how open people are to the idea of you fighting on the largest platform?
Newell: Look, the one concern everyone has is that if I lose a fight, the world will stop turning and no one will watch MMA ever again. That it will be bad for the sport. Well, I lost a fight, and then the UFC went and had its biggest pay-per-view of all time between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor. So, it doesn’t make a difference. I’ve already proven I belong and I don’t want to be treated any different. I just want an opportunity to win or lose. Obviously, I’m confident I can win in the UFC, and it’s not the end of the world if I happen to lose.
I think I showed them I have well-rounded skills. I didn’t get the nod that night, but I don’t think it’s a far stretch to think they’ll reach out to me if I win this fight.