CHICAGO – Many MMA fighters don’t have it easy, but [autotag]Alex Polizzi[/autotag] had next-level misfortune when he stepped into the cage against [autotag]Yoel Romero[/autotag] in 2022.
Polizzi (10-2 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) has not competed in 13 months, but Friday steps back in the cage at Bellator 297 against Karl Moore (11-2 MMA, 3-0 BMMA). The past year for Polizzi has been filled with adversity and change. He suffered a badly-broken jaw against Romero, but learned many lessons in recovery.
“I was laid off for a little bit with six months of no contact with a broken jaw,” Polizzi told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a pre-fight news conference Thursday. “We really took a step back to the drawing board and worked a lot of pad work, mitt work. But also a little bit earlier when I was unable to really work out at all, I made sure to get what was going on in my head right.
“I saw a mental performance coach who was able to go through some techniques about how to not only get ready, get my mind right to get back into things, but tools going forward to work on the mental side of things, as well. I think that’s been really super important and something that I hadn’t really put a lot of time into before… something that before this injury, this broken jaw that I think wouldn’t have done before.”
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In addition to the injury and mental improvement, Polizzi added more seasoning to his game. He switched gyms and moved across the country from Wisconsin to Nevada. Polizzi now trains at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas.
“There was a life-changing event,” Polizzi said. “My wife finished school and we were looking at new places to go. We had a couple different ideas about cities to travel to. On the list was Las Vegas and she said, ‘Hey Alex, how was Las Vegas for MMA?’ We said, ‘Yeah, I could probably make that one work.’ We made the move to Vegas and of course, if you’re in Vegas there’s really just the one gym option. It’s Xtreme and that’s where you’re going to get good work in with everybody.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 297.