Anthony Perosh: The Oldest LHW in the UFC Is Not Finished Yet

When Australian fighter Anthony Perosh walks into the Octagon at UFC 193 on Sunday, November 15 (Melbourne time), he'll be squaring off against Gian Villante. But he'll also be going up against another formidable opponent: Father Time.

MMA is a sport that asks a big price from participants. It breaks bones, tears ligaments and detatches retinas. But at 43 years of age, Perosh isn't slowing down. He's won nine of his past 14 bouts, has one of the best finishing rates in the UFC and, if you ask him, is just getting better.

"Age hasn't wearied him at all," says Perosh's first martial arts instructor, Paul Zadro. "Anthony just seems to be getting better and better every year. Even as a beginner you could see his dedication to improving. I'm really not all that surprised he is still doing what he is. He has always been absolutely fearless."

But the man himself claims the main secret to his longevity is something more mundane… planning. His daily, weekly and monthly activities are mapped out well in advance of an upcoming fight, and nothing is left to chance. "I don't ever wake up in the morning and ask myself if I should do wrestling or striking today," says Perosh. "There's none of that. Everything is planned out to perfection."

Wrestling. Strength and conditioning. Boxing. Kickboxing. Food. Recovery. Sleep. All of these components are finely balanced and managed, day after day and week after week. Everything is calculated. Everything is scheduled.

With this in mind, Perosh spends a lot of time researching the correct way to recover from the gruelling training sessions he goes through. "I do cryo-freeze therapy, I get massages and I also have a weekly session with a physio for maintenance. My knees and shoulders need particular attention. Recovery is just as important as my other training."

And what about diet? Does he have a trendy nutrition coach? Is he taking supplements to keep him on top of his game? "No, I'm not even doing protein shakes anymore, to be honest. I get all of my nutrition through real food. I eat fish and chicken and a lot of spinach and sweet potato—which are both superfoods. I'm sure if you ask 10 different nutritionists, they'll give you 10 different answers on what's correct. I do a lot of research into exactly what I need. It may not benefit everybody, but this balance works for me."

Real food is only one reason for Perosh's longevity, though. "It's worth noting that I started late in MMA," he says. "Just like Randy Couture, I didn't spend my 20s getting kicked in the head. I was doing BJJ and only had my first MMA fight when I was 31. Guys like Wanderlei Silva or the Nogueira brothers have been beating each other up since they were 18 and you can tell. They're not out of their 30s, but there's that wear and tear."

Perosh came to the martial arts later than many. He was working as a security guard and putting himself through university when he became involved in a 40-man brawl outside a club in western Sydney. The very next day, he began seeking out martial arts schools to train with to better handle himself if such a situation ever occurred again.

He discovered BJJ in Sydney, but the local scene just didn't cut it. "It's just the type of person I am," says Perosh. "I realised I had to go to the source—Carlos Machado—so I made my base in Dallas and trained as much as I could for three years."

One of his main training partners in Dallas was retired UFC fighter Travis Lutter. Says the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 4, "Anthony and I were both blue belts and we pushed each other hard. He definitely had a very strong mental game and was really tough to train with."

A few years later, in 2006, Perosh found himself staring across the cage at Jeff Monson in his first UFC bout. He's gone on to fight 10 more times in the organisation since then, famously accepting a bout against feared heavyweight Mirko Cro Cop on just two days' notice in 2010. He didn't win the contest, but by taking the fight he proved what his first coach had noticed—that he's "absolutely fearless".

Perosh isn't currently ranked in the light heavyweight division's top 15 and that doesn't bother him one bit. He cares more about perfecting his skills and overcoming his next opponent. "All of the guys I'm facing are at least 10 or 12 years younger—and it feels great to beat them—but I do it more for me," he explains.

In preparing for his bout against Villante, Perosh travelled more than 10,000 miles to Greg Jackson's camp in Alberque, New Mexico. He likes the set-up, the calibre of athletes he gets to train with and the expert coaching. It would have been easier to stay in Australia, where the fight is taking place, but Perosh doesn't leave anything to chance.

"I want to be the best I can be—and for me, that involves travelling all of that way to train. I'm feeling really good for this fight. My body feels good, my weight is on track. There shouldn't be any problems before I step in the Octagon.

"Of course, the most common question I get asked by journalists is when I'm going to retire. And my answer is always the same: 1. If I lose more than I win, 2. If my body can't handle the training anymore, and 3. If I wake up one day and I don't want to do this. But I still want this more than anything."

This unflagging determination is why Perosh hasn't ridden off into the sunset – spurred on rather than discouraged by the fact he's not a household name and has never been considered a UFC contender. It's why he plans his entire life meticulously, lives on superfoods, puts himself through cryo-freeze therapy and seeks out coaches on the other side of the planet.

"You can be 23 and lose the will to keep fighting. It's got nothing to do with age. I'm 43 and my goal is to reach the top. And I haven't reached the top, so the hunger still burns."