Even though he’s not fought in 20 months, welterweight Shane Campbell isn’t disheartened by the layoff.
It’s because the fact that he’s been a pro fighter so long that he knows how to deal with down times and not lose focus or hope.
“I’ve been doing this longer than I haven’t, so it’s not really too much of a difference,” Campbell told MMAWeekly.com. “I’ve still been training hard.
“The last two months I was down at Xtreme Couture in Vegas training very hard very consistently. I got in over 150 rounds of sparring and I’m feeling really good. Even though this is one of the longest breaks I’ve ever had, I’m feeling pretty good going in.”
One thing Campbell does feel is lost in not being able to compete is to properly test how his fight game development has been going.
“I think I have to have competition to gauge that,” said Campbell. “It’s hard to tell, you never really known. Especially with the fight scene in Alberta it was very uncertain if I was going to be able to get back in there.
“With the last Unified MMA card that was happening here it was tough to find me an opponent. There wasn’t very many options with it being so difficult Americans in over the border. There’s always the next fight, and I knew there was going to be something, but I was really hoping it was going to happen before I got too old.”
On September 24 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Campbell (17-8) finally returns to action in a title defense when he faces Mike Hill (11-6-1) in the 165-pound championship main event of Unified MMA 41.
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“I’m super excited because it’s been so long,” said Campbell.
“You’re not relevant unless you’ve done something in the last few weeks it seems these days. I think a lot of people have forgotten who I am and what I’m capable of. Especially with it being live on Fight Pass it’s a huge platform for me to remind the world what I have to offer the MMA fight scene.”
Campbell is eager to start back up where he left off when he last fought in 2019, and hopefully take his game to the next level in the near future.
“I’m absolutely prepared to go all in again,” said Campbell. “I’ve had my ups and my downs, but I’m feeling in a very good place right now.
“With a win here it could project me back into somewhere of the Top 10 tier in my weight division in the world and back into some of the largest promotions in the world.”
Shane Campbell looking to remind the world what he’s capable of at Unified MMA 41
