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One-arm fighter back to the cage

Xinhua, April 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

One-armed fighter Nick Newell (11-1) will look to rebound from his first loss at World Series of Fighting (WSOF) 20 at the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut against veteran Joe Condon (21-7).

WSOF lightweight Newell's 2014 didn't go as he would have liked. He got a title shot against 155-pound champion Justin Gaethje in July, but Newell wasn't able to keep momentum going after a good start and ended up losing by second-round TKO.

Looking to move forward from his lone disappointment last year, Newell is firmly focused on what is ahead of him and will take things as they come in 2015.

"I just want to win this Friday and take it from there," he said. "I made a promise to myself that I will work as hard as I can, give it all that I have and just believe in myself and see how far it takes me," Newell told MMAWeekly.com.

Born with a congenital amputation of his left arm, the WSOF lightweight doesn't view his condition as a disability at all. In fact, he's turned this perceived disadvantage into an advantage in the cage, amassing a near perfect 11-1 professional record with 10 first round finishes.

Mixed martial arts legend and WSOF commentator Bas Rutten noted that Newell's condition helps him sink in deeper, stronger chokeholds which make it nearly impossible for his opponents to escape. Endi