Photo via Sherdog.com
Anthony Perosh chronicles (UFC 61 and UFC 66 heavyweight bouts)
Anthony Perosh is a pioneer of MMA in Australia. He has competed at both light heavyweight, as well as heavyweight and is a UFC veteran.
In the second installment of the Anthony Perosh chronicles, The Hippo talks about the UFC callup for his first promotional run as a heavyweight fighter fr a pair of bouts at UFC 61 and UFC 66.
Anthony Perosh
The timeline of getting the call up for his UFC debut to fight Jeff Monson in the heavyweight ranks
“Oh look, when the UFC calls, you’re not gonna say no. I realize in hindsight, I probably wasn’t ready for it yet. Because I only had five or six MMA matches up until then. And looking back I was in the wrong division too. I’m a natural light heavyweight. I was just a bit lazy back then. A heavy-weight matchup appeared. Joe Silva says I’ve got a heavyweight match against Jeff Monson, do you want it? I said yeah, of course. Book me in.”
Transitioning from higher weight categories towards the light heavyweight 205 lb mark
“Even that tournament was like a modified heavyweight. That eight-man tournament I debuted in was under 100 kilos or under 220 pounds. As opposed to the heavyweight now which is 265 or 120 kilos. Pretty much after I had two UFC matches as a heavyweight in 2006 and I lost both of those. After that, I pretty much told myself. I’m too small for these heavyweights. I’m going down.”
Taking those defeats on some huge cards like UFC 61: Bitter Rivals and UFC 66: Liddell vs Ortiz II
“I have no regrets whatsoever. Learned a lot. I was very, very fortunate for the opportunity back then. I’m proud to be a part of the cards.”
The individual feeling being on UFC’s first pay per view to break a million buys, UFC 66
“It was very cool because when Zuffa took over UFC. I think it was like UFC 30 or 32. I followed and watched all the UFCs in the numbered thirties, forties, and fifties. So I was following the career of Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell. So yeah, I was looking forward to their matchup.”
