Drew Fickett Says He Could Be Homeless
Posted on 16 Jun 2012
by MMAScoops.com Staff

Drew Fickett (42-17) told MMA Junkie that he could be homeless if he loses tonight at ShoFIGHT 20 to Jonatas Novaes (9-4) It will be his 60th pro fight.

He has been sober for six weeks and has a new fight team with him. ShoFIGHT 20 will take place at O'Reilly Family Event Center in Springfield, Missouri. It airs on tape-delayed pay-per-view on July 1. Canadian fans can watch it live on The Fight Network at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT).

Fickett has previously fought for UFC, Strikeforce, DREAM and others. He has fought for thirteen years and had lots of issues outside of the cage, including a stay in jail that cost him a spot on The Ultimate Fighter 1, custody problems with his daughter and the alcohol problem that resulted in him being fired from UFC. He reputation as a reliable fighter was ruined.

He left Arizona to live and train in Florida. He's been sober for 40 days and moved into a rehabilitation center near American Top Team. But if he doesn't win and get paid, he could be homeless. He credits his turnaround to his new manager Jason Chambers. He recently ended a four-fight losing streak (his third in four years) with a regional win over Kevin Knahjian in March. Chambers then got him booked against Novaes.

During Fickett's career, he defeated names like Dennis Hallman, Kenny Florian, Carlo Prater, Josh Neer, Josh Koscheck, Kurt Pellegrino and Matt Veach.

On the pressure of his fight: "I'm facing pressure in this fight, but I've been through so much in my life recently that honestly, I'm not nervous at all. If I don't win this fight, I'm pretty much homeless. I'm just grateful where I am in life after some real rough patches the last few months. Even though I'll be homeless if I don't win this fight, which I don't plan on losing, that brings me no pressure whatsoever."

On manager Jason Chambers, who helped him seek treatment and brought him to ATT in Florida: "I have complete faith in him. For this fight, I didn't even know who or where I was fighting until a couple weeks ago. ... I leave it up to him and have him tell me when to show up. I moved out there for American Top Team and the rehabilitation center. I picked the spot because of those two variables. I'm training at American Top Team, which completely blew my mind. Not what I expected. Everyone is so humble and gracious and hospitable. I love the team there, and I definitely now call myself a team member of American Top Team."

On getting to 100 fights: "I'd definitely like to have a hundred fights. I think that would be an admirable mark. I think I could do that. I just still want to be able to compete with top-tier guys. I don't want to be a 100-0 guy who's fighting in Daisy's Car Wash against some bum just to get a fight and win under my belt. I'll keep fighting until I can't anymore. As soon as I can't keep up with the competition, I'm definitely smart enough to know it's time to do something else."