At 37 years old, Madsen knows he doesn’t have long to pursue the belt, and with a family of four to consider, moving to a new continent required several conversations. Eventually, the Madsen family decided to become adopted Arizonans for the next two years.
“It was a decision on whether to go at this 100 percent or just retire, honestly,” Madsen told UFC.com. “I don’t do things half. I’m all about commitment. I like to go at it 100 percent, and that was the conversation we had – whether or not go all-in or call it a day. We had an interesting conversation, and I mean, the weather here in Scottsdale, the personalities and the things that they’ve done here made it an easy choice.”
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Fight Ready MMA – through Cejudo’s streak of bringing high-level talent to the desert – has cultivated a reputation of fine-tuning fighters’ skill sets in a way that brings heaps of results.
Madsen, who proudly earned himself a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics, appreciates that kind of high-level athletic environment, as well as the coaching staff that includes Santino Defranco, Eddie Cha and Angel Cejudo. He points out their “holistic” approach to MMA, from their film study and technical teachings to their utilization of sports science throughout a training camp.
“When you step into the door and you say, ‘Hey, I want to win a UFC belt,’ they go, ‘OK, we’ve done it before. We know what it takes,’” Madsen said. “It’s all about whether I’m willing to put in the commitment that I need to do in order to succeed. I’m all about commitment. I’m doing that commitment by moving my family out here. Not only during fight camp, but I want to stay here 24-7. I want to learn. I want to develop every single day with these guys. There’s a very precise plan on the fighter that I need to evolve into in order for me to get that UFC gold. So, I’m pretty excited to be out here, and I could not imagine a better place to be.”
