Anthony Dilemme continues striving for greatness at CFFC 124, aims to become UFC champion
Lightweight prospect looks to keep undefeated record intact at Saturday's event, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS.
With a six-fight win streak going back into his amateur days, Anthony Dilemme has acquired a perfect 3-0 professional record, including two wins via knockout. He aims to keep the momentum going in his upcoming fight at Saturday's CFFC 124.
"In my amateur days, I had a couple early losses, but looking back I kind of learned my lessons there where it doesn't really matter, and once you turn pro, it goes away," Dilemme said, "I've just been doing the right things both inside and out of the gym and looking to keep that ball rolling."
Leading up to the bout, Dilemme had his opponents change on him multiple times, something he has dealt with in the past. He has not let it affect his mentality leading up to the date.
"I knew I was going to fight on this date. It was just a matter of who I was fighting. I'm always focused on me getting better and being in the best shape possible," Dilemme said. "It's nice to know when you have that one opponent you're preparing for the whole time, but that hasn't been the case lately, so I just focus on myself and my skillset a majority of the time."
Dilemme (3-0) is now set to face late replacement Robert Wusstig (9-14) at Saturday's event, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS. Faced with a difference in experience, Dilemme makes up for it with the amazing team he has surrounded himself with.
"On paper, yeah, it looks like a big difference in experience, but the guys that I train with every single day, they all have 13, 14, 15 fights – and not just pro fights, they're in the UFC, they're vets," Dilemme said. "Guys like Matt Frevola, Aljamain Sterling, Merab Dvalishvili, they all have a ton of fights. I don't look at it as anything, I just look at the opponent and his skillset. The numbers don't mean anything to me. I'm gonna go out there and do what I'm gonna do regardless.
"It'll be a big win. When I get my hand raised, it'll show that I can hang with these experienced guys.
Surrounded by greatness, Dilemme feels like he can achieve anything. He looks at his teammates' achievements as motivation and realizes that training with them will exponentially increase his growth as a fighter.
"It's definitely a confidence boost. We're like a tight-knit family. Everyone truly does care about each other and pushes each other," Dilemme said. "Just knowing that you're going with these high-level guys and they're ultimately where you want to be, it's huge. It puts things into perspective, and when you go out there, you know these guys aren't training with the guys you're training with. When they're in your corner and you know they've got your back, it's a great feeling
Dilemme has no shortage of goals in mind for his career. Walking away from this fight with a 4-0 record and another stellar performance under his belt could help move him in the right direction towards achieving what he believes he's capable of.
"My plan is win this fight, either one more or get the title shot, get that belt, and depending on the timeline, defend it until I can move towards the Contender Series and work towards a UFC contract," Dilemme affirmed, "I want to keep working my way through there and become a UFC champion."
With a burning passion for martial arts and the will to keep on pushing towards his goals, Dilemme has nothing but gratitude for those that have stood by his side during his journey.
"I'm super grateful for everyone that has supported me," Dilemme said. "It's been an interesting road. When I first started, not too many people believed that I could do it. Now that we're trucking in the right direction, they see the people I'm around and the success that I'm having, they're on board and it looks more real to them.
"I'm super grateful for my team and my coaches. I've been with them for a long time now, and I'm looking forward to getting this win and moving in the right direction."
ARTICLE BY: DEMETRI MOUTIS