Tom Breese will be facing Oluwale Bamgbose this Saturday at UFC Fight Night 107 in London. The British fighter recently moved back to England, and admitted that even fighters get homesick now and again.
“I was always thinking about coming home,” Breese told MMA Junkie. “Nearly every day, me and (UFC lightweight) Joseph Duffy, who is a great friend, would walk to the gym, and he’d say how much he liked Montreal. But I always just missed home. I was always making plans about what I’d do when I got home and after the last fight. I just thought life is too short to be wanting to do this or that, so I just did it.”
Another benefit of Breese’s return to England was the ease of mind it brought him. However, that almost wasn't the case due to a couple of holdups.
“My girlfriend, now wife, had to come over here and see if she liked it, and then there was a bit of a visa issue, but once we got that sorted, we got married,” he said. “I had to stay at my mum’s house for a good while, while I was looking at places. It was a very expensive move; I had to buy a new car and get a lot of things sorted. But I still wanted to develop my skills, and that’s why I was competing in jiu-jitsu nearly three times a month. When I was in Montreal, everything was around MMA, even money. So if I had a loss and didn’t get my win (bonus), then I’ve got no other income. But at home, I’ve got other income from coaching and seminars, so it takes a lot of pressure off. The only thing I miss is the people, because I have a lot of friends over there. I miss Eric O’Keefe, who was not only a great coach, but like a father to me over there.”
Breese has earned three of his tens wins as a pro in the UFC. UFC Fight Night 107 takes place on Saturday, March 18 from The 02 in London, England with Jimi Manuwa and Corey Anderson headlining. Fightful will be providing live coverage of the event, with a post-show podcast to follow.
