Either through the conventional route or Dana White’s Contender Series, Easton, Massachusetts’ was likely to get a call at some point. The 32-year-old got through some ups and downs to reel off five straight wins (four by knockout) leading up to the call to face Yusuff, and Shainis was sharp, having fought four times last year. But all that work led to a shoulder injury, and Shainis was only two days back into training (and let’s say a little over the featherweight limit) after recovering when the phone rang.
He took the fight.
“Now my performance was absolute dog s**t, but I said I’d show up, I said I’d make weight, and it didn’t matter who was in front of me,” Shainis said. “I know that you got a zombie version of me, but I’m just excited to go out there with a full camp and with proper training and the proper nutrition and to go out there feeling good rather than being a lethargic, fat version of me.”
UFC 284 Fight By Fight Preview
And he gets to do it in Australia, where he doesn’t just get to fight, but to give a priceless gift to his father, who will be in his corner at UFC 284. The difficulty for any parents to accept their child’s career as a prizefighter isn’t lost on Shainis, but with him all-in on this, mom and dad have followed suit.
“It went from my dad hopes I never do this again to I’m fighting in the biggest organization and he’s flying out across the world,” Shainis said. “I think my parents are pretty happy – maybe not happy (Laughs), but I think they’re proud of the fact that I just didn’t follow the path of everyone else and did the whole college thing, found a job and doing that. I believed in myself, and I took a risk, and we’ll see if it pays off or not.”
