Team Alpha Male’s Andre Fili will face one of the toughest tests of his career when he takes on Michael Johnson in the UFC Fight Night 135 co-main event on Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska. Fili has rattled off back-to-back victories for the first time since joining the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster in October 2013 and could conceivably vault into the Top 15 at 145 pounds with a decisive win over Johnson.
Fili may be best known for his being called a homophobic slur by Conor McGregor in 2017, but many believe he has the tools to contend in the featherweight division. He started his mixed martial arts career at the age of 18 and has developed into one of the more well-rounded fighters in the 145-pound weight class during his five-year run in the UFC.
The most intriguing aspect of Fili’s striking is the power he possesses with seemingly soft punches. At times, the hooks he lands do not look like clean connections, but they still have enough power behind them to finish the fight. Having fight-ending power in your strikes is an odd intangible in combat sports, and no one really understands it yet. Some fighters are seemingly born with it, and Fili has it in spades.
Fili does not just have power in his hands. He has proven to be an active kicker and dropped Artem Lobov with a picture-perfect head kick, his shin landing right on the temple. Fili often gets caught in the moment and tends to favor his boxing, but when he settles into a comfortable groove, he will mix in kicks to keep opponents guessing.
Fili also possesses a beautiful jab that he does not utilize nearly enough. He likes to jab while taking a v-step to his left to set up his right hand, but he also uses it to stop his opponent’s forward movement, as he did against Lobov. Earlier in his career, Fili tended to become overzealous and wound up tossing technique to the side in favor of standing and trading. However, his performance against Lobov showed he can keep his emotions in check and follow a game plan without getting distracted or caught in the moment. Few fighters would have kept themselves under control with McGregor screaming at them for 15 minutes, but Fili did so and authored the best performance of his career.
Another interesting aspect of Fili’s game is his ability to catch kicks and either strike or secure a takedown off of them. Like Johnson, Fili likes to counter in combination. Against Jeremy Larsen, he caught a kick and countered with a four-punch volley instead of one precision strike.
Fili may be known more for his striking prowess, but he is an underrated grappler. He rarely goes for offensive takedowns, but he is adept at making his opponents overextend before shooting at the hips while they are off-balance. Not only does this make takedowns easier to secure, but it makes opponents wary of coming forward with strikes, even if Fili cannot control them on the ground.