Considering he feels he wasn’t as well-prepared as he could have been for his bout versus Andre Hall at Art of War 16 this past February, middleweight Andre Petroski nonetheless had a solid showing and came out of the fight with a second-round TKO victory.
As Petroski puts it, having an issue-plagued camp didn’t have him as confident going into his bout against Hall as he normally would have been, but he still did well enough to pick up his fifth straight finish to start his career.
“I don’t want to hang on to my accolades, but I was proud of myself because the camp I felt was like one little injury after the next,” Petroski told MMAWeekly.com. “I was working a lot. I had just fought in December, so it was a real quick turnaround.
“I remember going into that fight and my mindset was like I wasn’t confident in my training leading up to that point. My camp wasn’t that good. At the end of the day a fight is a fight, and do the best we can.”
With the onset of the novel coronavirus lockdown earlier this year, Petroski looked to have had another difficult round of training, but a couple months ago he was able to relocate his camp and get things going in the right direction.
“At the beginning I was in (New) Jersey and just did a lot of wrestling, lots of lifting weights, and trying to stay as busy as possible,” said Petroski. “The gyms were closed down and weren’t letting the pro guys into train, so that was difficult, us doing our own thing.
“I flew out here (to Factory X in Colorado) in September and have been out here since and have definitely gotten the best training now. My striking has definitely come a long way. I feel I’m more composed in the ring. I have confidence in my gas tank. I think I’m a more experienced, more dangerous fighter.”
This Friday in Park City, Kan., Petroski (5-0) puts his perfect record on the line versus Aaron Jeffery (8-2) in the LFA 93 middleweight main event.
“I think it’s the perfect step up in competition,” Petroski said. “I’m happy with it. I think I match up well (against Jeffery). I think my style is a nightmare for him. I want to get more ring time. I think I’ve got like seven rounds between my five fights. I’m excited.”
Should Petroski come out of his bout versus Jeffery healthy, he’ll look to get back into the cage as soon as possible.
“It’s all going to depend on this fight,” said Petroski. “Would I like to fight again? Absolutely; regardless whether I win or lose or whatever; I absolutely want to fight again before the end of the year.”
TRENDING > Khabib Nurmagomedov done with Conor McGregor, thinks Tony Ferguson’s time is finished
Inside LFA: Ron Kruck talks to LFA 93 headliners Andre Petroski and Aaron Jeffery
(Video courtesy of LFA)
Andre Petroski heads in LFA 93 main event as Aaron Jeffery’s nightmare