Shamel Findley fueled by adversity ahead of CFFC 132: 'I've felt worse things than just losing a fight'
"Badman" returns from a chaotic layoff to face Bilal Hasan this Friday on UFC FIGHT PASS.
As he readies for his long-awaited return to the cage at Friday's CFFC 132, Shamel Findley is ready to make a massive statement. Despite his nearly one-year absence from the cage, "Badman" is not hesitant of stepping right back into the spotlight in a featured matchup that streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from Philadelphia's 2300 Arena.
"This is just how I've been," Findley said. "I'll attribute it to life. When I leave the cage, I come back to so much chaos and things I feel obligated to fix. I've felt worse things than just losing a fight. I feel like once you've walked through certain things and live through certain things, other things get easier."
Findley's absence was accompanied by no shortage of adversity. Shortly after his CFFC flyweight title fight against Badmatsyren Dorzhiev this past July, Findley lost an important relationship in his life that played a significant factor in his time away from fighting.
"Right after the title fight, a couple days later I'm in the gym down in Coconut Creek training," Findley recalled. "I came out of a training session, and they told me that they had just found my dad dead. People don't know that this is what I'm coming into this fight with. It's real life happening outside of these cages."
Although he had already been living through hardships, the challenges did not stop there for Findley. During Findley's time at American Top Team headquarters, as he was training and preparing for his next fight, he was also sleeping in his car to get by with his day-to-day life. All hope was not lost for Findley, however. Through his own grit and determination – and the help of some of his teammates – he would find a way to get back on his feet.
"Somebody that has been a huge inspiration to me is Dustin Poirier," Findley said. "There was a time where I was at American Top Team, and I was sleeping in my car. 'King Mo' (Muhammed Lawal) and Christian Turner would help me out and give me a place to stay. Dustin used to come in early and give me rounds, offer me a place to stay, offer me money to get into a hotel. My boy Monty really looked out, and here we are now."
Findley was planning to move to Florida full-time to keep training with the likes of Poirier and Adriano Moraes at American Top Team headquarters, but after the passing of his father, he returned to Georgia to be there with his family. Nevertheless, Findley states he is getting great training ahead of his return to the cage and feels like he is going to put on an amazing performance.
His return slates him against flyweight prospect Bilal Hasan (3-0) who is coming off a substantial knockout win against Jacob Romano. Despite the competitive fire between him and Hasan, Findley (6-2-1) said he is curious to see just how good Hasan really is. His assessment of Hasan currently is that he will not make it through the fire, but if he can, we will all be in for a fight we will never forget.
"What I would say about this fight, if he can withstand some of the things that I'm not sure he can because of some of the things I'm questioning, I think it'll be reminiscent of Petr Yan vs. (Sean) O'Malley, Poirier vs. (Dan) Hooker," Findley said.
"I think with this one, I know I'm going against a 'dynamic striker' and a guy that everyone is looking to be this special case. With this one, I want to push the issue. I want to know what it's like to go against this 'elite striker' strike for strike. Let's push each other's cardio. Let's throw combinations. Let's give the crowd those moments. That's the energy I'm bringing out there Friday."
