After over two years away from the Bellator cage, Norbert Novenyi Jr. is ready to make up for lost time.
The undefeated prospect returns to action for the first time since October 2020 when he faces 35-fight veteran Andy Manzolo this Saturday at Bellator 291 in Dublin. Novenyi was booked to compete at Bellator 270 in November 2021, but a torn ACL forced him out of the bout, and on the sidelines, which led to a lot of frustration.
” I couldn’t walk,” Novenyi said to MMA Fighting. “I got myself to the gym, hopped into the gym, did my cardio seated, or just literally sit down in front of the mirror and [threw punches] for an hour, then a trip to another gym to lift weights.
” I won’t lie. There were times when I went to my coaches and even my parents. I felt like I was crying. I didn’t cry because it’s so difficult. I just kept pushing through and now I’m here and I’m ready to crush someone. It will be great to smash someone’s head .”
Novenyi started his Bellator career with four consecutive wins. Three of those were by submission. This created quite a buzz and made a name for himself. The 23-year-old knew he had to recover from his injury, but once he was cleared to begin training full time, getting back to the swing of things while waiting for a contract to come his way was tougher on him than the torn ACL recovery.
“The worst part was once I got back to training fully, I’m still not fighting,” Norvenyi said. “I still feel rough, I still hurt myself and that stuff. And that was rough to keep that motivation because I’m back now. Now I train 10 for hours per day. I am still not fighting and don’t have any fights, which was my hardest part. That was actually harder than my injuries .”
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Manzolo is entering the Bellator cage as he seeks his first promotion win. The 38-year-old has 23 finishes over his 26 pro wins, and comes into the matchup as a sizable underdog.
Novenyi understands that he’s facing his most experienced opponent, but stylistically, he believes this is the perfect matchup to come back to.
“It’s a good match up for me, but you know, and I hope it comes forward, comes forward straight into my right hand and it goes to sleep after,” Norvenyi explained. “I’m just looking forward to getting in there. He has had 35 fighting. He’s got a decent record, black belt in jiu-jitsu, black belt in judo. Sorry, my wrestling is superior to his judo. I don’t think his striking can be any better than mine. I feel confident in my skills and [is that] that I will work harder than anyone else.
“I know because I go to sleep frustrated that someone might be able to beat me, that someone might do better than me. I wake up in the middle of the night and I’m like, ‘Jesus Christ.’ I get angry when someone might be better than me. It’s important that I work everyone and that I do so .”
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/2/24/23610127/norbert-novenyi-jr-ready-to-take-out-frustrations-bellator-291-itll-be-great-to-break-someones-face?rand=96749
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