UFC Vegas 53 Fighter to Watch: Andre Fili
Veteran returns to action against Joanderson Brito, aiming to show he's still a factor in the featherweight division
Name: Andre Fili
Nickname: Touchy
Record: 21-8 (1 NC) overall, 9-7 (1 NC) UFC
Division: Featherweight
Team: Team Alpha Male
Opponent: Joanderson Brito (12-3-1 overall, 0-1 UFC)
Andre Fili is another one of those veteran guys we don’t talk about enough.
Do yourself a favour and go pull up his resume, read through the names that he’s faced over the course of his nearly nine-year UFC career, and then try to tell me that he’s not one of those competitors that has fought a crazy-difficult slate over the years. If we ranked fighters based on strength of schedule and not simply wins and losses (although reputation factors into rankings too), Fili would be a Top 15 featherweight without question.
In case you didn’t go pull up his resume, here’s the list of opponents Fili has faced inside the Octagon, in chronological order, starting with his debut:
Jeremy Larsen
Max Holloway
Felipe Arantes
Godofredo Pepey
Gabriel Benitez
Yair Rodriguez
Hacran Dias
Calvin Kattar
Artem Lobov
Dennis Bermudez
Michael Johnson
Myles Jury
Sheymon Moraes
Sodiq Yusuff
Charles Jourdain
Bryce Mitchell
Daniel Pineda
The only unseasoned opponent or non-prospect that he fought was Larsen, and that was his debut. Since then, Fili faced fellow prospects like Holloway and Rodriguez as they were ascending, battle-tested veterans like Arantes, Pepey, and Benitez when he was still just getting his footing in the UFC, welcomed Kattar to the Octagon for the first time, and after beating Lobov, went on a run of facing tough veterans and talented up-and-comers, including handing Jourdain a loss a little under two years ago.
But because he’s never cracked the Top 10 and been a real title contender in the featherweight division, Fili doesn’t get the kind of recognition a rising star with a lesser resume or a popular veteran that’s in the “trading on their name” stage of life tend to receive. He’s viewed as just another piece of the divisional puzzle and a tough test for someone like Brito this weekend.
We really should do a better job of celebrating fighters like him and the numerous other talents that reside on the outskirts of the rankings not because they’re not good enough to break into the Top 15, but because they say “Yes” to every nightmare matchup they’re offered, opting to step into the Octagon against whomever they’re assigned, come what may, rather than bobbing and weaving their way to favourable assignments, lengthier winning streaks, and greater adoration from an audience that values highlight reel finishes over high quality wins and a media that focuses on too narrow a swath of competitors.
Some will argue that Fili got some shine at different points, but could never build any real momentum. I would argue that it’s hard to build momentum when after just about every win you’re stepping in with a future contender.
Wins his debut; squares off with Holloway.
Beats Gabriel Benitez; faces Yair Rodriguez.
Defeats Hacran Dias; takes on Calvin Kattar.
Knocks out Sheymon Moraes; lands opposite Sodiq Yusuff.
Out-hustles Charles Jourdain; mixes it up with Bryce Mitchell.
Arguing that he doesn’t deserve any shine because he can’t beat that group feels like an exceptionally high bar to set for giving folks some recognition because that quintet make up one-third of the Top 15 in the featherweight division right now, including Holloway, Rodriguez, and Kattar being in the Top 4.
They’ve combined to go 26-9 since facing Fili.
Here’s the list of people that have beaten those five fighters in that time: Dustin Poirier, Alexander Volkanovski (x2), Frankie Edgar, Max Holloway (x2), Renato Moicano, Zabit Magomedsharipiv, and Arnold Allen.
Presented another way: perennial lightweight contender, reigning featherweight champ, perennial contender, former champ, underrated fringe contender, everyone’s favourite enigma, and current contender.
I’m not a big college football guy at all, but I’ve always understood and appreciated that they talk about strength of schedule instead of just straight up wins and losses, because who you faced is just as important as the result you earned, but that doesn’t seem to resonate with MMA folks nearly as much.
Don’t get me wrong, results certainly matter, but a loss to a Top 15 talent can absolutely mean more than a victory over someone with no UFC wins or that has never climbed beyond the middle of the pack in their respective division, the same way those SEC teams with a loss or two always get a little more love than the unbeaten mid-majors when it comes time to talk about the National Championship Playoff or whatever it’s called.
This matchup with Brito on Saturday feels like a chance for Fili to remind some folks about his level.
The Contender Series graduate dropped his debut to Bill Algeo in January, and I’m not sure whether he pissed someone off or is owed a favour, but this feels like an unearned step up in competition and potentially being led to the slaughter all at the same time. He went from facing a tough mid-pack veteran who was 1-2 in the UFC before their fight to sharing the cage with a divisional fixture that has resided in the Top 15 in the past and isn’t too far away from earning a spot there again.
Historically speaking, Fili tends to beat guys like Brito, and should that come to pass this weekend, take a minute to show the man the respect he deserves for the strong career he’s crafted.