Will Fleury hunting redemption as he enters the last chance saloon

The Tipperary MMA star is fighting to secure his future and his legacy this weekend at Oktagon 62.

Irish MMA star Will Fleury heads into his bout with Pavol Langer at Oktagon 62 this weekend well aware that there’s more at stake than just a fight.

A win would solidify the Tipperary native’s status as number one contender for the Light-heavyweight crown and a crack at legendary Czech star Karel ‘The Terminator’ Vémola.

Fleury thought these days were behind him when he was banned for nine months in 2023 at the age of 34 for failing an anti-doping test when he tested positive for the anabolic steroid drostanolone.

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While serving his ban, Fleury considered hanging up the gloves, but after a stern talking to from his support team, he decided to give it another shot and returned to the cage with an impressive submission win over Daniel Skvor in April

“I was pretty emotional before that fight even just because I think if I hadn't done that, I probably would have stopped fighting,” says Fleury.

“Just because even when I got the ban I was 34 years old at that stage and that was my big chance of financial security from the sport gone.

“Financial security is pretty unlikely at this point, so now you're just chasing this thing for the sake of it.

“I had to have a good long think about it all. And then eventually it was one of the coaches actually just pulled me aside and said, ‘Will, you're f*****g way too good to stop. You’ll always regret it walking away at this stage.'

“And look where I am now. I’m in a number one contender fight on Saturday evening. I’m in a good position overall and there’s a chance there at financial security.

“That opportunity really has spurred me on and, given me something to really work towards in my career, which is huge to me.”

That steroid ban saw Fleury banned for 9 months and slapped with a $3,000 fine. And while he obviously acknowledges that it was the wrong thing to do, he does paint a picture of a sport that is far less clean than it claims to be.

“I had the steroid thing and now it's, well, you're not going to complain.

“It's a funny one. It really is because there's a whole lot other argument there of, like, I know a lot of other lads who've been done for it, but this just haven't been done publicly.

“There's obviously a hell of a lot of steroid usage going on in the heavier weight classes in MMA.”

With Oktagon, Fleury has signed for one of the biggest growing MMA organisations in the planet and one that regularly holds events at massive football stadiums in Europe, as they will this weekend when Oktagon 62 takes over the Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt.

The long-time teammate of Conor McGregor isn’t exactly the fighter who the powers that be want to put the machine behind, but the 12-3 star is keen to put on a show that makes him undeniable.

“The main reason I signed with Oktagon was to be a champion and to leave a legacy, and to have something at the end of all of this.

"They’re giving me that opportunity, which is huge, they'd much prefer if I was a Czech guy coming in.

That's where there shows are, that's where they're going to sell the majority of their tickets.

“And in some ways you feel like you're swimming against the tide a little bit that they kind of don't want you to be the main guy, but I think they understand what they've signed here and that they know that if we bring this guy in and we give him our guys, he's going to be able to do the business.

“So, in a way there's nearly a reluctant acknowledgment that they're going to have to get behind me. It seems to be working out. I just have to keep doing the business. So, you have to be on the money every time and go in and put on a good performance and be emphatic.

“That kind of gives you a kick up the arse, if you mess up one thing in one fight here, they're going to do their best to get rid of you. It can't just be a win, it has to be a special win.

“So to me, it looks like there's an opportunity there and that's really keep me going at the moment where it's like, look, this is not gone.

“You still have this chance.”

And a chance is all he has ever wanted. For years, Fleury has trained alongside the very best in the World. In Ireland, he fought out of the famous SBG gym where John Kavanagh helped craft McGregor into the biggest star the sport has ever seen.

In America, Fleury has gone toe-to-toe in training with former UFC champion Sean Strickland, impressing the American to such an extent that he cornered Fleury for his return fight last April.

Despite having a career that many would envy, Fleury recognises that time is running out. Next March, he’ll be 36. In need of financial security, Fleury is back working part-time. It’s now or never.

The lucky breaks have just never come his way. Granted, he takes responsibility for his mistakes that have stifled his progress, but the veteran is looking for just one slice of good fortune, one lucky bounce, one fortuitous decision that will have made all the years of sacrifice worth it.

“I might not sound very emotional, but I get very emotional about that sort of thing the odd time while I'm training when it hits me a little bit where you're like, ‘Yeah, you probably only have another three or four years left in this thing and you better make f*****g something out of it.

“It’s those sorts of chances and the prospects of things like that, that really get me going.

“Do I feel a little bit underappreciated and unrecognized? Yeah, sort of, but I like to look at it as if that's my own fault and it is, I can't skirt around that. I've done f*****g things that have hurt my career.

“I got knocked out in Rome when I was being built up by Bellator as the big guy.

“I allowed myself to be a little bit, I wouldn't say underprepared going into that fight, I did a lot of work going into it, but I definitely felt the confidence that I was going to win that I probably shouldn't have.

“That was a huge mistake on my behalf and I suffered badly.

“Look, you shot yourself in the foot, but you also paid dearly for it a few times. There's a lot of things where I'm like, yeah, that could work out a tiny bit different.

“It would have been f*****g hell of a lot better for you, but I am where I am and I'm still healthy and I'm still alive and I can f*****g do very well out of this eventually if I put my mind into it.”

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