And the UFC has given him another shot to turn things around against the Dominican Republic’s Cortes Acosta, so that’s got to be a sign that the promotion still sees his potential, right?
“I really don’t know,” said Vanderaa, caught speechless for the first time in probably forever. But it shows how much this means to him and has meant to him since he was a teenager planning out his life’s path.
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“I made two decisions in my life, and both of them were for this career,” he said. “At 17, I basically said, f**k trying to commit to college and going for anything else. If you go to college, go to learn how to wrestle. I went to college for two days, then some wild s**t happened financially, so I said f**k this. (Laughs) So I stuck to fighting. Then I was with my ex, and I said, I want this tattoo, she said fine, are you sure you want it on your neck? Yes. If I get it on my neck, it means one of two things – I want to have a harder time finding job or it forces me to focus and push myself to stay on my career path. Boom, got my tattoo, and here we are.”
And here is where Vanderaa plans on staying. That means getting back in the win column and starting to build the momentum he hasn’t yet in the big show. But he’s got the talent, and he’s got the charisma. He just needs to put together some wins and maybe, just maybe, he’ll become the next big thing.
“I’m no Paddy (Pimblett) or Conor (McGregor) or Tai (Tuivasa), but I’ll definitely light up a room,” he laughs. “I’m just a different kind of fun, and I’m okay with that.”
