There is a Nutella bagel waiting for {Aaron Slimane} upstairs. He hasn't eaten it yet. That's the whole point. The 26-year-old from Castleford, West Yorkshire was making weight yesterday morning ahead of his debut at SENSHI 31 Gladiators at the Ancient Theatre in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
He took the fight on short notice, adjusted his diet fast to hit the -75 kg mark, and is sitting with the hunger rather than rushing past it. "The food I'm going to eat soon is going to be more satisfying because I had to work for it," he said. "So when I go upstairs and have a Nutella bagel, I'm going to enjoy that more than if I just had one at home."
The line explains the attitude of ‘Slim.’ He is a firm believer that things only carry weight when you've had to carry them yourself first. “If I just got handed this, and it all just fell into place, I wouldn’t value it the same. But if I go in there, we have a good fight, and I get my hand raised, then afterwards, that’s going to be satisfying. It’ll be enjoyable in that moment, but everything leading up to it is the most enjoyable part.”
This philosophy was built through experience. Slimane spent five years in the British Army, infantry first, then as a Physical Training Instructor, before leaving last year specifically to chase fighting full-time. He is clear that the military shaped the way his mind works under pressure.
Aaron Slimane's Philosophy
"The places we went, obviously none of it was nice, but I still enjoyed it," he said of his service. "I didn't mind being away. I didn't mind getting dirty and doing all that stuff." Being a PTI was a natural fit. "I loved beasting people," he said, with the kind of cheerfulness that makes you believe him.
The crossover between soldiering and fighting runs deeper than just mental toughness. Slimane made the point that in the Army, he was pushing himself through training for something he didn't necessarily love, but he thrived in it. Apply that same discipline to something he actually loves, and the ceiling shifts entirely. "Imagine being able to push yourself that hard for something you didn't even enjoy," he said, "so now I'm doing it for something I do, the results speak for themselves."
"When I've been injured, I just think, 'I can't wait to be back in camp.’ Where I'm dieting, where I'm not able to eat the food I want, not drinking, not seeing my friends, because you're in that flow state."
The binge eating and going out might feel good in the moment, but it doesn't leave much behind. “Afterwards you think, 'What have I got to show for that?' But when you're training hard every single day, pushing yourself past limits you thought you couldn't get through, and then boom, you do it again, it's the best feeling ever.”
It's the journey, as he puts it, not the destination. "Everything leading up to it is the most enjoyable part." Fighting in front of thousands at a Roman amphitheatre only means something because of the road. "I want to be the best version of myself," he said. “I want to do this so the future me can have a better life.”
SENSHI 31
That future version of himself gets his first big audition tonight. Slimane faces Atanas Bozhilov, the Bulgarian veteran known as "Mr SENSHI" and the most decorated fighter in SENSHI history, holding the European title at -75 kg alongside multiple world titles in KWU Full Contact. He is exactly the kind of opponent that tests whether the work has been done.
"My opponent is very experienced. There is not much he won't have seen, but I do think he'll see that I am ready for the big stage," Slimane said.
His fight is one of three super fights on a night that also features a Lightweight Grand Prix at 70 kg, with fighters from 14 nations at one of sport's more extraordinary venues. Ranked number two in the UK at 72.5 kg, his aim by the end of the year is to be in the -75 kg Grand Prix as a contender.
His pre-fight message to Bozhilov is short: "Good luck, I hope you've trained hard. Let's have a great fight and then get a beer after."
Source: beyondkick.com