Athletes
Josh Fremd Blocks Out The Noise
Pride Of Pittsburgh Focused On Putting Together First UFC Win Streak Saturday vs Pickett
It’s a moment few fighters will ever forget, and you can count Josh Fremd among those who will always remember the first time he got his hand raised in the UFC Octagon.
“Ironically, it was in the same place that I fought as an amateur - same hotel, just a different name,” said Fremd, who faced and defeated future UFC fighter Darrius Flowers in what used to be the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas in a King of the Cage bout in 2016. Nearly seven years later, he was in the newly minted Theater at Virgin Hotels, where he submitted Sedriques Dumas in the second round.
Pre-Order UFC 292: Sterling vs O'Malley
“Once I got my hand raised, I heard the crowd, I had friends from back home and family there, and it was everything and more than I've ever wanted, that I've ever dreamed of. And it's a high that I want to replicate and that I'm going to be chasing for a long time. Getting your hand raised after a fight in front of a crowd is just the greatest feeling in the world. Now I know I'm fighting in the APEX, there's not going to be that big of a crowd, but same concept.”
That concept is “just win.” At this level of the sport, any victory is hard-fought and the culmination of several weeks of preparation and sacrifice, whether there’s 20 people, 2,000, or 20,000 in attendance, and for Fremd, getting the win over Dumas after starting his UFC career out with losses to Anthony Hernandez and Tresean Gore was a big deal. But as he approaches his Saturday bout against Jamie Pickett, he’s not basking in the glory of that first Octagon victory. Just the opposite.
“That feeling of getting my hand raised is quite addictive,” he said. “And, if anything, it's made me work even harder, and I still have those losses. It's a bad taste in my mouth. I feel like I have a lot to prove to myself and to other people. So it hasn't really changed anything. I'm still out here getting it.”
Saturday's Full Fight Card Breakdown
“Out here” is the Factory X gym in Colorado, where Fremd has left his beloved Pittsburgh behind in order to get work with some of the best in the game and chase his MMA dreams. It’s been a good fit for him not just physically, but mentally, where he’s learning to get to a place where he can deliver his best performances consistently.
“I love this game and I think that a big part of my problem is that I love this game too much and I let it get to me too much,” he admits. “So I've done a little bit of soul searching, some mind control, just getting back to why I got into this. I just love to fight. So I try and block out all the noise and do what I do best.”
The Best Knockouts From Last Season Of Dana White's Contender Series
And he keeps an underdog mentality heading into Saturday’s meeting with Pickett, who is hungrier than ever to get his hand raised after three straight losses.
“I think my mental edge is that I still feel like my back's against the wall,” he said. “Yeah, I got a win. That's cool. I didn't perform as best as I know I could, but Jamie Pickett goes out here and if he beats me, I'm not still in the UFC. So my back is still against the wall. I want to go out here and prove to myself that I belong here still. He is going to be dangerous and so am I. So I'm just going to stick to how I know to fight, be smart and get the win. That's all I'm looking to do is get the win.”
Three Fighters On The Come-Up This Saturday
Then it’s back to Pittsburgh and some Primanti Brothers, and those iconic sandwiches will taste a lot better for Fremd off a pair of UFC wins.
UFC Fight Night: Luque vs Dos Anjos took place live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas on August 12, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
