THE WILL OF A CHAMPION
Inked|The Moto Issue
UFC FIGHTER MEGAN ANDERSON PULLS BACK THE CURTAIN TO REVEAL HOW MUCH INTENSE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL PREPARATION IS NEEDED TO SUCCEED IN THE OCTAGON.
Charlie Connell
THE WILL OF A CHAMPION
The life of a fighter is not an easy one. Mixed martial arts fighters spend months carefully regulating every aspect of their lives to make sure they’ll make weight. They put themselves through rigorous training sessions to maintain their stamina and train their mind so that once they get in the octagon instinct will take over. After all this work, even the most talented fighter still ends up getting pummeled on their way to victory. To a layperson, it sounds quite painful. Yet, for Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight contender Megan Anderson, that pain is nothing compared to going under the needle.

“Getting tattooed is way worse. One hundred percent,” Anderson says with a laugh. “The only thing I’ve had in my fights is a broken nose and I’ve broken my hand, but I didn’t realize they were broken until after the fight. Even then it wasn’t too bad. It is, for sure, way worse getting tattooed than any fight that I’ve ever been in.”

It probably helps that, more often than not, at the end of the fight the referee is holding Anderson’s arm in the air. Before coming to the UFC in June 2018, she was the Invicta FC Undisputed Featherweight Champion. Anderson has compiled a professional record of 11-4 with nine of those victories coming via knockout or submission.

This story is from the The Moto Issue edition of Inked.

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