“We hoped the other one could last,” he said. “The doctors said it could last forever, it could last a year, we don’t know, so I think if I had done both at once, it would have been twice the recovery anyway, so he went and fixed the one and I was feeling pretty good. I was getting excited to fight (Makwan) Amirkhani (last October) and it just got too bad really quick and we had to jump on it. But I think I was able to bounce back a little quicker this time.”
How’s Saturday for quick? It’s when Connelly will make his long-awaited return in a fight that will test his body, mind and spirit – a three-rounder with featherweight toughman Darren Elkins.
So is the 36-year-old Connelly at a hundred percent now?
“As close to a hundred percent as a 36-year-old MMA fighter can be,” he laughs. “But I feel great now. The first month of training that I was allowed to go full contact, I went from zero to 80 percent right away. The weight came off right away, and it’s almost like the little bit of a rest was good for me.”
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It always is for a fighter closing in on the big 4-0, but Connelly’s age may be deceiving, considering that he only began fighting when he was 25 years old, leaving him with a lot less wear and tear than if he started as a teenager.
“And when I was 25, I looked like I was 12,” he laughs, but fight years or chronological years, 36 is still 36, and he’s made the proper adjustments.
“You gotta get more technical as you get older; that’s the name of the game,” he said. “You’re not gonna out-athlete them, don’t try that. You gotta outsmart them.”
It’s what Connelly did in that unforgettable win over Pereira, but will he be able to implement a gameplan against Elkins, or will the 38-year-old Indiana native drag Connelly into his world? It’s not a world most hope to visit, but the British Columbia native apparently has his passport stamped and his lunch packed for a long night.
