Ty Flores has won five straight going into his headlining clash with experienced kickboxer Dustin Jacoby at Dana White’s Contender Series on August 4th. The Team Elevation prospect reveals that this hot streak did not start off on the best of terms.
“You know, it’s funny. I kicked this off and then I had knee surgery, I had a recurring injury on my knee. I don’t know, something clicked. I couldn’t train and maybe that was it just to be simple. I couldn’t train and I really wanted to. I had knee surgery in November 2017 and I told them I wanted to fight by May and, like. They thought that was crazy.”
Although there were individuals that doubted his quick return, Flores was determined to jump back in and it paid off tremendously.
“I fought in May, and then I fought in June and I fought again in November so it was three times in a year. I hit my recovery like a champ. A new fire kind of lit up. Since [knee surgery] I have won four more fights and it’s been great.”
After getting his fifth win in May 2019, Flores hit another roadblock.
Before the pandemic hit in early 2020, opponents would just not sign on the dotted line to step into the cage. Most fighters would be frustrated with this set of circumstances but Flores has used his time away from competition wisely.
“The year off has been good, I was a little worried about ring rust at the end of last year when I got around that six-month mark. I actually feel better than I do six months ago just with the improvements I have made. The quarantine was actually a good thing for me training-wise.”
With training, it was never anything physical for the 26-year-old light heavyweight. On top of always working to improve all aspects of his arsenal, Flores looked more into his mind to find the answers for some inadequacies.
“I would say the striking and the footwork. It was really just a mental thing. Even the wrestling, if you look at my last fight the first couple of shots were bad, just not setting things up. I think it was just a mental thing, maybe. If I could fight in the cage the way I fight in the gym, I could beat anybody. I just kind of made those adjustments.”
“It’s just been so much sparring in the past year. I wasn’t really a fast starter, that was the number one thing that I really worked on. Just fixing that, you know, not coming out the gate super slow. And just being in the right headspace, a mentality shift. It’s felt a lot smoother. “
Entering this light heavyweight showdown with Jacoby, Flores questions the motivation behind his opponent’s appearance on the show.
“[Jacoby] good, he’s a veteran, but he’s a bit older. I’m like the younger, hungrier guy. I haven’t looked too much into his record, I don’t know what is going on with Glory. If he’s like doing this on a whim. I think they just tossed him to the wolves if that.”
“It’s a wrestler vs striker kind of thing. I’m just going to go out there and take the center. I don’t think he’s going to be able to defend my takedowns. I watched his last MMA fight and it was just kind of boring. He fought Cody East who didn’t really look that athletic and he just stood there. That is not going to be me. I can go hard now for five whole rounds. I can wrestle for five rounds. I don’t think he is going to be able to put up with my pressure. I know I hit hard especially when we get on the ground. The last guy I fought I broke his jaw. He’s old, he’s had a lot of battles. All the respect to him but when it comes to that contract I am going to have to break him.”
