If there is an upside to having his next fight cancelled, it may be that finally has some time to explore 91原创 City, his home for the last year-and-a-half.
And the 34-year-old gets to spend time with his wife Jen, waiting for their first child to arrive.
Other than that, waiting for the coronavirus pandemic to ease so he can return to fighting 鈥渟ucks,鈥� Connelly told the 91原创 Advance Times.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 get that many chances to compete,鈥� he observed.
Connelly made the most of his first big chance, when he was a last-minute addition to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in Vancouver in September of last year, an underdog matched against a bigger, flashier opponent in the person of Brazilian Michel Pereira.
As UFC Fight Night 158 turned out, Pereira had some flashy moves, but didn鈥檛 have the ability to outlast a determined Connelly.
It ended with a unanimous decision for Connelly (29-27, 29-27 and 29-28), and a $100,000 purse.
鈥淚 had a big start,鈥� is how he summed up his Rocky-like victory.
Smashing his way to the finish!
鈥� UFC (@ufc)
馃嚚馃嚘
Connelly was training in Las Vegas for his next UFC fight, an April 11 bout with Alex da Silva in Portland, Oregon, when the virus forced an end to almost all sports, including the UFC, sending Connelly back to 91原创 City.
鈥淎ll I can do is be patient,鈥� Connelly said.
鈥淚鈥檓 doing my best to keep in shape.鈥�
READ MORE: Tristan Connelly shocks the UFC world
Unfortunately the best way to train for a fight is by sparring, and that is not allowed under the current social distance rules, which Connelly is following.
That doesn鈥檛 mean rival fighters are as scrupulous, he noted.
鈥淲ho knows what other people are capable of doing?鈥� Connelly commented.
Right now, he is waiting, like everyone else, to see how the crisis plays out.
鈥淚鈥檓 just trying to stay positive,鈥� he remarked.
Connelly became interested in martial arts as a teenager in Victoria, when he took up Jiu-Jitsu.
鈥淚 fell in love with it,鈥� he recalled.
鈥淥ne thing led to another.鈥�
He got his nickname from the movie Boondock Saints and his use of its theme song, Blood of Cu Chulainn, as his walk-up music for his first pro MMA bout.
UFC president Dana White has generated controversy with his unsuccessful attempts to end the shutdown and hold events during the pandemic, including statements that he was looking into staging fights on a 鈥減rivate island.鈥�
White earlier announced that he was canceling UFC 249, set for a California casino resort, under orders from event broadcaster ESPN and ESPN鈥檚 parent company, Disney.
dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com
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