This past February, middleweight Norbert Novenyi Jr. returned to action following a 28-month layoff from fighting largely due to a torn ACL.
After having waited so long to fight again, Novenyi was able to return in style, defeating Andy Manzolo at Bellator 291 with a first round TKO, marking Norbert’s sixth straight victory to start his pro career.
“That fight was something that was coming for a long time. It was great to be back,” Novenyi told MMAWeekly.com. “I really enjoyed the moment of it. I performed quite well. It was a great night, and all the hardship I had to go through was worth it.”
For Novenyi, the time away was used not only to work on his game, but on himself, and is a better version of both a man and a fighter than he was prior to his layoff.
“I would say my game, my fighting game, has improved massively in the past few years, but I feel like in the past two and a half years I’ve improved a lot as a man and not just as a fighter,” said Novenyi. “I understand myself better and I understand life better.
“I understand how to understand things like pain and frustration better; the things that can be annoying and painful in everyday life; I’ve learned how to deal with it. I think that’s the best thing to happen in the last two years.”
Novenyi (6-0) looks to keep his undefeated record going when he takes on Kamil Oniszczuk (9-2) in a middleweight bout at Bellator 297 on Friday in Chicago, Illinois.
“He’s a tough fighter,” Novenyi said of Oniszczuk. “He’s surrounded by a lot of great guys and coaches, but I believe I’m really hard to train for.
“I’ve got a very unpredictable striking style, and I can mix it with my wrestling which is very decent level, and I’ve got black belt level Jiu-Jitsu. It’s really hard to find someone who can put it together the way I do it and with the unpredictability in every single part of the game. I believe I will put on a great performance and a fantastic fight.”
Having started off his return on the right foot, Novenyi is looking forward to keeping his momentum going and picking up at least three fights in 2023.
“My plan for this year was to break somebody’s face in January, break another face in early summer, and enjoy my summer a little bit and then break another face at the end of the year, hopefully before Christmas so I can have a lot of food during Christmas,” said Novenyi.
