As Ready as Can Be

Malaysia is a far cry from Florida’s regional mixed martial arts scene.

Friday, at One Championship “Masters of Destiny,” West Palm Beach native Troy Worthen will experience that massive switch in cage locale. The stark change in setting could be a daunting task for some. However, Worthen is as prepared as an American fighter can be to make their One Championship debut in a venue like Kuala Lumpur’s Axiata Arena. That’s because the Florida native is well assimilated to the Asian combat sports market, as a new resident of Singapore, and recent addition to Evolve MMA team.

“The way I got into One Championship and Evolve MMA, was a global tryout Evolve hosted,” Worthen told Sherdog. “We flew over -- me and bunch of other athletes from around the world -- we went through a week trial, they pretty much put us through hell, and found out who would break, and who wouldn’t. I ended up being the first pick from the team.”

Being chosen to join the team and organization meant living in Singapore full-time. The idea of moving to a foreign land would give many reasons for pause. Yet for Worthen, the chance to train at one of the elite MMA gyms in the sport came at just the right time.

“I was super excited,” says Worthen. “I actually had quit my job about six months prior to that and decided I was going to focus on MMA full-time. I put money in the bank, and was just going to ride it out and do whatever I could. So, the opportunity to go to Evolve MMA, and sign with One Championship was huge. I was super-excited.”

In this exclusive interview with Sherdog, Worthen also talked about his path to becoming a mixed martial artist, and his background as an amateur wrestler at the University of Central Florida and living in Singapore.