The nickname “The Controller” for Connor Matthews is the most apt one in the UFC. After all, he sepnt years in the US Air Force as a combat controller. However, after leaving the millitary, he decided on another dream – or rather two of them.
“For a couple of years after I got out of the military, I was working at Lauzon MMA. And I was just teaching classes there,” Matthew explained. “My whole dream, my whole life is, you know, outside of being a UFC fighter, is I want to open my own gym”
Following the tough year of 2020, Matthews decided it was time to pull the trigger. He looked at nearby spaces for rent in Massachusetts and eventually found a location for his first gig. That, unfortunately, would be short lived.
“I took the chance after the pandemic. I actually was renting space from a CrossFit gym. I had running classes, kid classes, adult classes – but unfortunately, the CrossFit gym that I was renting from ended up closing their doors because they didn’t get the customers back like they did prior to the pandemic,” he said. “That being said, I had a mat. I had everything. But the gym closed. So, I was kind of screwed for a little while.”
Luckily for Matthews, he had the perfect support system. His parents jumped right in and gave him an avenue to continue what he was doing.
“My parents were like, ‘hey, you can just put your mats in the basement for a little while until you find a new space’. And that’s what I did,” Matthews said. “I put the mats down there, started running my kids’ classes, started training. In the meantime, I ended up getting this Contender Series fight, winning my fight, and that kind of took over.”
Once again, his other goal – the one of being a UFC fighter – has given him a slight detour from owning that gym. However, what he has right now is higher level than anyone truly realizes.
“Right now, I’m not really running the classes the way I was before. I’m just kind of focused on training myself, and I love it, man,” he explained. “You know, rent’s cheap, first of all. But I still have a lot of pro fighters come down. I just did my last rounds in my cage in my basement with Nick Fiore, who was a prior UFC fighter as well.”
But it’s not just Nick Fiore who pops in. There are plenty of pro and even former UFC fighters who make appearances. Althought those appearances are great, it’s a couple of regulars that have Matthews at his very best for his upcoming fight.
“I’m sure, at first, you go, oh, my God, this guy’s training out of his basement. Like, who knows? But, like I said, it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “We got good coaches down here and good training partners. I got my really consistent guys that are coming up in Andrew Valdina and Joe Poirier. They’re down there, like, every night with me.”
We’ll see the fruits of mom’s basement this Saturday as Connor Matthew takes on Jose Delgado. That fights takes place as part of the UFC Vegas 102 main card starting at 7pm EST on ESPN+.
You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 25:53.
