After what will have been nearly a 12-month layoff, New Zealand born middleweight, Dylan Andrews will step into the Octagon to take on Sam Alvey in what promises to be a slug fest.
Andrews, who underwent shoulder surgery after a hard-fought loss to Clint Hester, is eager to get back into the win column.
‘The Villain’ will put his 17-5 record on the line in the preliminary stage of UFC Fight Night in Sydney on the 8th of November.
Despite the layoff, Andrews is adamant that he won’t be affected by ring rust.
“It’s not really something I’m too worried about.” He said. “I have enough wars in the gym to keep me happy and keep me fight ready”.
A self-proclaimed “hard hitter”, Sam Alvey lost a razor close decision in his last outing against Tom Watson.
Boasting over 10 TKO finishes himself, Dylan Andrews is more than happy with Fight of the Night honours after his battle with “Smile’N”.
“I’m happy with a 50k bonus.” He said. “Fight of the night, man. I love it. It would be awesome”.
With an increased amount of large middleweights entering the UFC roster, Andrews has always thought about a potential switch to welterweight and hasn’t ruled out a change after the fight.
“We’ll see how we go.” He said. “Obviously I wanted to stay at middleweight just for this fight, purely to not have to deal with too many issues as far as rehabbing the shoulder and dealing with a weight cut at the same time. After this fight, who knows? We’ll see what happens.”
With plenty of successful fighters coming out of Australia and New-Zealand, Andrews was ecstatic to see so many Australasian fighters making successful transitions to the UFC.
“I’m happy so many more people are making it from Australia and New Zealand because I’m hoping that means more training partners.” He said. “It’s handy when you don’t need to travel three-thousand miles to get training in. They’re starting to pop up everywhere. Jake Matthews is awesome, a really promising young kid. Dan Hooker is another one I like the look of. I know how hard he’s worked to get here. It’s always good to see local people get on the big scene.”
A lot of fighters feel extra pressure when having to perform in front of their home crowd, but Andrews feels calmer in front of his friends and family.
“When I fought in Brisbane in December I was pretty amped actually. I didn’t feel too many nerves at all.” He said. “I’ve just got in my head that people at home like me. I take the home ground in a positive way and not in a negative way. I don’t worry about trying to please everybody.”
Sam Alvey is a recognized striker and known for having a strong chin, but Dylan isn’t worried about what his opponent brings to the table and is more focussed on what he needs to do come fight night.
“My game-plan is to be first”. He said. “I think he waits too much. He sits and waits and he’s trying to counter fight too much. It’s just about being busy. When that opportunity presents itself, attack and do what I know how to do, which is finish”.
Dylan Andrews has the opportunity to advance to 3-1 in the UFC when he collides with Alvey. If he can manage to notch up a win, he’ll put himself in a great position to shake up whatever division he decides to compete in.