Stoked to see him get to the series, I am sure he is going to do well.
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http://cagejunkies.com/2013/01/dylan-andrews-getting-to-tuf-17/
Dylan Andrews – Getting To TUF 17
Rejection is a cruel thing.
When you are told that you are not good enough to compete at the elite level in a sport that you love and have given your life to, it could make you second guess what you are doing.
A few months prior to being selected in the upcoming season of The Ultimate Fighter, Dylan Andrews tried his hand at Australia’s inaugural season of the reality television program, TUF: Smashes. Although naturally a Middleweight, on paper Dylan looked like a shoe-in, he had the weight cut down and he had a winning record to go with it.
“I was so sure that I would get in,” Dylan explained, “Not only that, I was so sure that I was going to win the contract. I had done everything I needed to do. I looked around the room and with no disrespect intended; I couldn’t see anyone that could beat me. When my name wasn’t called it wasn’t so much disappointment, I felt angry.”
It would take a couple of days for that anger to die down, after the try-outs a lot of people would second guess their involvement in the sport, Dylan however was more vocal than ever. “It took me a couple of days to calm down,” he laughed. “I was just angry at life. I thought that the whole thing was stupid and I was angry everyone. I was getting angry at promoters for not being able to get me a fight, I was angry at fighters for not taking fights. I felt that it was everybody’s fault except my own. I was looking for anybody to blame but eventually I cooled my head like I always do.”
After the disappointment from the TUF Smashes trials process it would have been easy for Dylan to lose faith in the series altogether, however when Dylan received a call from a friend in Vegas telling him that the season seventeen try-outs were set to take place he wasted no time. “My friend asked me if I wanted to do this anymore, he told me it was going to be at 185, they knew what happened with Smashes and wasn’t sure I was going to do it. For me it didn’t change anything. I knew within half an hour that I was going to fly over, I booked a flight after talking with my missus, I knew I couldn’t just quit.” On the opportunity Dylan saw it as a second chance, “when someone dangles a one hundred dollar note in front of you, you go for it,” he laughed.
The same confidence that Dylan took into The Smashes trials he took to Vegas. “I just went in there as confident as ever. I was a little angry at first; everyone there was second guessing me, thinking that I couldn’t compete on their level. I looked around that room again and I knew that I could beat anybody. It isn’t cockiness, it’s confidence and you have to believe you are the best to be the best. I thought that I could beat anybody there and I think I can compete comfortably in the UFC,” he explained.
The confidence paid off as it was revealed earlier in the month that Dylan would take part in the series after earning a spot in the top thirty-two competitors who would be fighting for their chance to get inside the house.
The experience as a whole for Dylan was something that he would never forget, “I never got my hopes up and even when I got the call I never believed it. When I was on that plane ready to fight for my chance to be in the UFC through Ultimate Fighter I never believed it was happening. Even when I met Dana White, I just couldn’t believe it. Everything was finally starting to come together.”
On the season itself, Dylan was confident that the fans would be happy, “I have heard that it’s a really good season,” he laughed. “Dana White has said it’s the best season yet and it features a lot of bad ass dudes. I think it’s going to make for a great season, with so many accomplished fighters in the cast I doubt it will disappoint.”
None of this would be possible for Dylan without the help of his sponsors, Nutrition Warehouse, Notorious Cuts and Advanced Fight Gear along with the support from his family and the help of his teams at PUMMA and Heartbreak Conditioning. Without good support it is hard to make it in MMA so Dylan certainly appreciates the people around him.
Season Seventeen of The Ultimate Fighter debuts just next week and if the hype beforehand is anything to go by this season is set to blow season sixteen out of the water!
