For young fighters that are starting their careers, timing is truly everything. As everyone is different, it means that some progress faster or slower than others. Sometimes a fighter may be fast-tracked when they should have taken it slower, perhaps the long road is taken when they should be fighting at higher levels.
Getting the balance right is hard to find but generally, it will come naturally if the fighter is putting their absolute all into each and every performance.
Depending on how frequently a fight is being finished or a fight is being gotten can play a massive role in development as well. Because the quicker the fight ends, the less damage is taken and the opportunity to get right back in the cage is presented much quicker.
However, some things can also happen by simple chance that is out of one’s control. Which happened to be the case for the young Australian prospect, Nadia Kassem.
Starting her professional MMA career in 2015, Kassem would quickly rocket herself into the top prospect discussions among fighters at flyweight and strawweight as she alternated fights in both divisions for her first four fights.
Her fifth fight would be her biggest as she made her UFC debut by defeating the experienced veteran and fellow Aussie, Alex Chambers.
Ready to get back at it as usual after the win, injury would strike thus creating a 14-month gap between fights for the Australian Top Team product.
“I’d taken a bit of a fall outside training and I injured my lower back with some bulging discs and things like that,” Kassem told The Body Lock when speaking of her injury. “And I still do feel it here and there but it hasn’t gotten in the way of my training so I’ve been able to push it aside and of course work on it outside with my [chiropractor] and doing all the special treatment I need to do so that I can come back.
“But then after that I kind of hurt my hands and I tore some tendons, I had stitches on my knuckles so I wasn’t punching anything for like a few months. I would have fought on the Adelaide card, hopefully. Like, I would have done that last year in December but of course, had to wait again, so a bit stressful for me.”
Continued: No time like the present: Nadia Kassem isn't your next 'Plain Jane Aussie'
