Like most Americans these days, Andre Fili has been forced to make some serious changes to his daily routine thanks to the current COVID-19 pandemic. But the UFC featherweight says the adjustments haven’t all been such a bad thing.
“I’m doing little park workouts with a couple teammates and just kind of getting outside because it feels good,” Fili said. “You can’t be cooped up too much. I’m making sure I’m getting training sessions in every day, but to be honest, dude, I (expletive) love quarantining. This is a (expletive) dream come true.
“I don’t want anyone to think I’m taking the coronavirus lightly. I hope everyone’s doing OK and everyone heals up. It’s honestly tragic. It’s horrible, for sure. But the way that it’s affected me, thus far, I have zero complaints. I’m just shamelessly binge-watching shows and movies that have been on my list for years. I’m reading. I’m catching up on the stacks of comic books that I have. I’m just sitting in my backyard drinking coffee, playing with my dog, and it’s just completely acceptable for me to stay home and do nothing, and honest to God, dude, dream come true. Dream come true.”
A California native, Fili (20-7 MMA, 8-6 UFC) lives in Sacramento and is a longtime member of Team Alpha Male. With the state government mandating the closure of all gyms, “Touchy” hasn’t had access to his normal training facility. Like fighters up and down the UFC roster, he’s been forced to find alternative training methods.
But with life slowing down during the nation’s reaction to the coronavirus outbreak, Fili said it’s important to try and take positive moments out of a challenging situation.
“Think about if I asked you six months ago, like how stoked would you be if I went, ‘Hey, dude, just take two weeks, guilt-free, and hang out with your family,’? Fili asked. “You would be so stoked on that. It’s (expletive) awesome. And for the last week, I’ve done nothing but hang out with my dog, watch movies. I’ve gotten to hang out with my little sister, which I don’t really get to do very much. I’ve gotten to read a bunch of comic books. I’ve trained like once a day, got cardio in, got roadwork in, and then I come home and just kick it.
“We do workouts in the park. It’s just me and my buddy; he’s from the team. We still work out at the park. I skate the mini-ramp a little bit. I run around with my dog. Literally, it’s been awesome. Everyone is friendly.”
Fili admits he didn’t initially see the good in our current ordeal. After all, when the state of California first ordered residents off the streets more than one week ago, the panic that followed didn’t do anything to ease people’s concerns.
But Fili believes as folks have begun to get used to the routine, they should now look for ways to strive rather than just survive.
“It was scary for a while, like walking into the grocery store and seeing people stock up and people hoard stuff, and you could kind of feel the level of hysteria,” Fili said. “You could see the doomsday prepper in everyone kicking in, and you could feel the panic, and it was scary. It was sad to see, and I was worried about – I make decent money now, fighting, especially for a single dude with no kids, but there’s families out there that can’t physically, they don’t have the means to stock up for the next couple weeks. I was worried about how that was going to go for people, but I feel like at least where I’m at, that first wave of hysteria kind of subsided, and everybody just kind of went, ‘Whew,’ and breathed out, and it’s like, ‘Oh, so we’re just hanging out.’
“As long as they don’t declare martial law or some spooky (expletive) happens, we’re just hanging out at home. My sister is basically on summer vacation forever. It’s really pretty (expletive) rad, man.”
When, exactly, life will get back to some degree of normal is anyone’s guess. UFC president Dana White is intent on resuming the promotion’s schedule beginning April 18 with UFC 249 and going full steam ahead from there.
Fili is looking forward to that moment in life as much as anyone else, but right now, he’s savoring a different pace. Of course, if you’re struggling during this time, Fili said he gets it, and he’s got a recommendation to keep you entertained.
“I hope everybody stays safe and at least enjoys this time, hopefully a little bit,” Fili said. “I know it’s (expletive), but there are good things you can take from every situation.
“I hope everybody stays safe. I hope everybody enjoys their quarantine at least a little bit. If you’re bored at home, you can listen to my music on Spotify. My band’s called Born Breach. You can mosh around in your living room in your underwear or something.”
After initial hysteria, Andre Fili mastering shelter-in-place: 'We're just hanging out at home'
