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Healthy again, Fil-Am prospect Hyder Amil eyes fresh start in UFC return
Filipino-American prospect Hyder Amil feels like a brand new man heading into his Octagon return on Sunday morning (Philippine time) at the Meta APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Looking to bounce back from the first two losses of his professional career, “The Hurricane” will take on Christian Rodriguez in a featherweight contest on the main card of UFC Fight Night: Kape vs. Horiguchi.
The defeats snapped Amil’s 11-fight unbeaten streak. More than a chance to get back into the win column, the 36-year-old sees the fight as an opportunity to reintroduce himself.
“When I cut weight, in my last fight, I actually had an ulcer, which is a hole in my stomach, had acid leaking out,” Amil revealed in an exclusive interview with GMA News Online.
“And I didn't give up, I went to a decision, but as you can tell, I was wincing in pain. If you watch the fight, I was gagging, I was trying not to puke, I was fighting my symptoms the entire fight.”
After undergoing extensive testing, Amil learned he was dealing with an ulcer caused by an advanced Helicobacter pylori infection, a major risk factor for stomach cancer.
The diagnosis finally gave him an explanation for the physical struggles that had plagued him. Rather than being discouraged, the Cebuano-born striker believes he only gained a newfound perspective on both fighting and life.
“When you think about life or death, and you're in that situation, like in the UFC, and I was on a run, I was undefeated. And that happens to you, and I was wondering why I was so light, I was wondering why all these things [happened].”
“So, you know what, I feel great. I feel confident. Don't think two losses did anything to my confidence. But you know what it did? It made me more measured.”
Now fully recovered, Amil is eager to unleash the version of himself that took the division by storm.
“I feel like I've been racing with a broken car last year, and I might have had this for longer,” he said.
“So I honestly feel like I physically, everyone's been telling me, ‘Bro, you're like reverse aging.’ I feel healthier, I feel amazing, and I feel like now I get to race with a good car.”
Standing across the cage from Amil will be another featherweight desperate to reverse his fortunes. Rodriguez, eight years younger than the Contender Series standout, is also coming off back-to-back defeats.
But as far as Amil is concerned, having already stared down a life-threatening ordeal, no opponent in the Octagon can faze him.
“Every fight for me, Christian Rodriguez, I don't care who it is, it's just a challenge, a self-challenge to me.”
—JKC, GMA News
