When it comes to his 2022, flyweight Oscar Herrera feels like the 1-1 record he had about sums up how the year went, both positive and negative.
Additionally, the fact the he only fought twice was far from the kind of activity level Herrera would have liked to have seen.
“I wasn’t very active last year,” Herrera told MMAWeekly.com. “I wasn’t very active and didn’t fight like when I originally started my pro career. I only had two fights last year. I wasn’t healthy for one of them, but then came back and then did good in my next one.”
If there is a big positive from the year, Herrera feels like he was able to grow as a fighter and will be a better version of himself when he kicks off his 2023 campaign.
“I feel like sometimes when you’re in a fight camp you focus on what you’re good at, but I feel like I gave myself more time to grow and develop new skills,” said Herrera. “I really had more time to add new tools to the toolbox.
“We have a lot of great coaches and they recognize the holes in everyone’s game; stuff even I don’t recognize; so it’s kind of more a credit to them seeing the things I can’t see.”
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Oscar Herrera faces Victor Gonzalez at Fury Challenger Series 4
This Sunday in Houston, Texas, Herrera (4-1) kicks off his 2023 versus Victor Gonzalez (4-5) in a main card flyweight bout at Fury Challenger Series 4.
“Honestly, I’ve kind of veered away from thinking so much about the match-up,” Herrera. “I’ll try to look and form a game plan and whatever, but game plans can go out the window a lot, so I’m focusing more on listening well to my corner and just trying to listen and just grow.”
Should Herrera come out victorious on Sunday, he’d like to start making moves to get to the next level sometime over the coming year. If anything, he’d prefer to stay as active as possible no matter where he’s fighting in 2023.
“I’m really hoping I can get on the Contender Series after this or go get another win or just keep active,” said Herrera. “I was always active back to my amateur career, always fighting, and I’ve been really inactive (of late).
“I haven’t fought since last September, and to me that’s pretty inactive, so I’d like to fight a little bit more.”
