Alyse Anderson has a tough test against Victoria Souza coming up at ONE 168: Denver on Friday, Sep. 6. However, it won’t be the biggest challenge she has faced over the last 12 months.
In 2023, “Lil’ Savage” had a health scare that brought her to the brink of calling time on her career.
It all began on a regular day, as she enjoyed time with her father in Florida. Suddenly, a sharp pain ripped through her body, leading to a trip to the emergency room.
“I couldn’t walk. I was crying, screaming at my dad to call 911. Even when we were in the hospital waiting room, I was like, ‘Call 911,’ and he’s like, ‘We’re here already.’ I was just so out of it, in misery. It was the worst pain I’ve ever had,” Anderson recalled to ONE.
Upon examination, doctors discovered a ruptured cyst, which led to a 10-hour surgery.
Anderson returned home to Michigan to recover afterward, but she remained sick and began to lose weight.
“I just couldn’t keep food down. I was just nauseous 24/7 and throwing up, which is why I got so small. I was not eating at all because I just would get super nauseous. I just didn’t feel right,” the 29-year-old said.
Eventually, after multiple trips to the doctor, a growth was found on her liver that needed to be removed.
Anderson’s health improved from there, but she openly admits that the ordeal caused her to contemplate retirement.
“I was chilling with my career. I was so caught up in thinking I was never going to fight again. I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror when I would brush my teeth or shower. I didn’t look athletic anymore. I felt so weak,” the Xtreme Couture representative said.
“It just took such a toll on me that way because I didn’t see myself anymore when I looked in the mirror. I was just skin and bones, and I didn’t feel strong or empowered or like an athlete.”
However, once she began to recover and put on conditioning, “Lil’ Savage” gained a new perspective on life.
She is now in a place where she can reflect and take lessons from the traumatic event.
“It was something that was out of my control, and now that I’m on the other side of it, I can look back and feel like I’ve learned a lot about myself,” Anderson said.
That said, stepping back into the gym was not an easy task.
The atomweight contender had to regain her size and strength, and her mental fortitude was tested as she worked to get back to where she had been before falling ill.
“When I started training again, I definitely felt I was starting from the bottom. I just kept telling myself if I just show up every day, I will get better. If I just show up every day, it will get better, and eventually, it started to,” Anderson remarked.
“It was slow at first, but I just continually kept going, and I slowly started to see it was improving.”
The Michigan native pushed herself to her limit while preparing for her upcoming return to ONE Championship, and it was there that she found happiness.
Now a week away from her fight with Souza, Anderson believes the walk to the Circle at ONE 168 will be her sweetest yet.
“I remember the first time that I hard sparred and had that feeling when you’re so tired that you can’t breathe at all when the bell is over. Just like your heart is beating in your head. I started crying when I felt that feeling because it’s like, ‘Ohh, I hate feeling like this,’ but I had missed that feeling,” she said.
“I feel this because I put my body through this because I accomplished what I wanted to in these rounds, and that really, mentally, I feel like it definitely made me appreciate the sport a lot more – and my health a lot more.”
ONE 168: Denver airs live and free on Prime Video on Friday, Sep. 6, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Remaining tickets for the event are on sale via Ticketmaster.