Ben Nguyen is currently ranked #5 in the UFC Flyweight Division and he is coming off of a win over Geane Herrera at UFC Fight Night 101, but after finding success in MMA, he still can't understand why people volunteer to be MMA fighters.
“I think it was just determination and just wanting to enjoy it,” Nguyen said to MMA Junkie. “I remember being in training and having a really (expletive) day, and I was like, ‘Why do I do this?’ And the next day I was like, ‘This is why I do it.’ I love martial arts. I love being in here. I love just standing in front of someone and just throwing punches and getting hit with punches myself. I love this. I don’t know why. I don’t know why anyone would want to do this, but I love it.”
Nguyen understands why he wants to be an MMA fighter, as he was able to show his full range of skills at UFC Fight Night 101. Nguyen says the win made him feel alive in the octagon.
“I felt alive in there,” Nguyen said. “I just feel like I was in there for once. I went all three rounds, and usually, in my last few fights, in the first round I’m like done, and I’m ready to get out of there. But this time I was comfortable. I felt like I was grounded and I felt that I was in the octagon, for once. There’s a lot of pressure (in fighting), and I just wanted to enjoy it again. This time I felt like I was in there, and I was loving it. I was in there, and I was thinking, and I was doing what I do in the gym every day.”
Nguyen has yet to have his next fight announced in the octagon, but he isn’t expected to compete again until next year.
