Troy Worthen recalls his tough childhood and how wrestling helped him

Troy “Pretty Boy” Worthen wants to remain undefeated on 22 November at ONE: EDGE OF GREATNESS when he takes on China’s Chen “Rock Man” Lei at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Worthen made a splash in his debut with ONE Championship in July when he got his fifth consecutive victory over Chen Rui by way of technical knockout. “Pretty Boy” is excited for the opportunity of being a part of ONE’s bantamweight roster, which is stacked with world-class athletes.

“I have always wanted to be at the pinnacle of the sport, facing the best guys in the world and now I get my chance,” Worthen said.

The 26-year-old American moved to Singapore to develop his skills with the help of world champions from Evolve MMA.

“Training at Evolve is just a breath of fresh air. It is just nice to have everything consolidated all in one place. Getting help from World Champions that are truly invested in me, they are all super experienced and everybody is really good here,” he said.

When he was a child, Worthen had to deal with several family problems.

“My mom was an alcoholic, so she would be drinking and my dad would get home and she would be drunk in a rage and they would be fighting all night. The cops would be coming over, so when they got divorced, I was actually kind of relieved and happy because I didn’t have to deal with it as much. It was a little rough, but everybody has their problems growing up and I am not going to act like mine are any different, so just learn to live with it,” he said.

Worthen eventually found an outlet in martial arts after being introduced to wrestling by his older brother. He then went on to represent the University of Central Florida and became an NCWA Southeastern Conference and NCWA All-American Wrestling Champion.

On top of his superb wrestling skills, however, Worthen also holds a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which he plans to use to win against his Chinese opponent.

“I was a kid with no path, I kind of just woke up every day and I did not know what I was focused on. When I joined wrestling, for the first time, I knew why I was doing it. I had a purpose. It really started to encompass my life and it got me out of some bad places. I was not exactly the best kid, so I owe a lot to wrestling.”

In the main event of ONE: EDGE OF GREATNESS, Muay Thai legend Nong-O Gaiyanghadao will defend his ONE Muay Thai Bantamweight World Championship against MTGP Welterweight World Champion Saemapetch Fairtex.

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