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Andre (Touchy) Filis first outing with Team Alpha Male was a fight followed by a brawl.It was October 2011 and Fili was fighting in Sacramento on a Capitol Fighting Championships card that was held in Urijah Fabers Ultimate Fitness gym, the home of the renowned Team Alpha Male MMA camp.Fili won a unanimous decision in the ring over Tony Rios, only to see a group of his friends brawling with a contingent of Rios supporters in the crowd.I jumped out of the ring and got involved, Fili recalled. I almost got suspended by the (athletic) commission.He landed on the judges table and headed for the brouhaha before fellow fighters Justin Buchholz and Danny Castillo dragged him back to the ring kicking and screaming.It kind of made me realize that what I was doing was not the right thing to do at that time, he said.Fili (13-2) has fought nine times since, winning eight of them, and is a member of Team Alpha Male.On Saturday night, the 24-year-old featherweight looks to set the table for training partner Chad (Money) Mendes at UFC 179 in Rio de Janeiro.Fili takes on Felipe Arantes (16-5-1 with two no contests) in the prelims before No. 1 contender Mendes (16-1) faces champion Jose Aldo (24-1) for the 145-pound title.Fili has looked to keep a busy calendar since he was turned down for the cast of The Ultimate Fighter. He was 4-1 at the time and was told he wasnt experienced enough.Fili proceeded to win six fights in the span of 10 months in 2012.He had been sidelined for a year prior to the Rios fight, injuring his knee in a 2010 loss to Derrick Burnsed. Fili met Faber, a former WEC champion, backstage and was invited to his gym.It was a tough year for Fili. In addition to suffering his first loss and needing surgery, he crashed his car and got arrested.His new training base was a step in the right direction, although it was painful at times as he made the transition from a small local gym to elite camp.I went from training two or three times a week and being the man to getting my ass kicked two or three times a day, he said. It was a rough transition. I was still kind of partying and doing the wrong things. It took a while to transition, to see what everyone was doing. All these guys were making fighting a lifestyle. Once I started doing that, making changes outside the gym, it really started paying dividends.When he first came to Fabers gym, he was under house arrest (for getting into a fight) and wearing a monitoring device on his ankle. He told his probation officer that fighting was his job, so he got to come to the gym to work out.I had to train with my ankle monitor on so I didnt throw left kicks for about thee months.Fili had a tough upbringing and had to turn his life around. He credits MMA and Team Alpha Male for helping him do it.It definitely could have gone a lot worse, he said of his life. It was actually going a lot worse, it was already headed the wrong way.A lot of people like to fight, said Fili.But there arent a lot of people who get their ass kicked and then go home and stick to their diet and give up going out so they can get rest. And then wake up the next morning and do it all again.Fili won his UFC debut, stopping Jeremy Larsen in the second round at UFC 166 last October on two weeks notice. He was training for a welterweight fight (170 pounds) when he got the offer to fight at featherweight (145).Fili was 178 pounds when he got the call for the fight. After a crash weight cut, he could get no lower than 148.5 pounds. The UFC appreciated his efforts, not to mention the win.Last time out, against an opponent who was a step up in class, he was submitted in the third round by Max Holloway at UFC 172 in August. I learned body kicks hurt really bad, he said of the Holloway loss during which he absorbed several spinning back kicks.One of them, I felt his heel in my liver, he recalled. And I almost sat down.He wasnt the same after and Holloway took advantage.Fili went back to the drawing board and says he just wants to to kick some ass in Brazil and show he belongs with the divisions top fighters.A colourful character who sings in punk rock bands, likes comics and tattoos and is sponsored by a local skateboarding shop, Fili wears tape on his earlobes in the cage to cover up holes stretched by spacers. A fan of body modification, he has eight piercings including his ears.They can be a pain in the ass at training but you get used to it, he said.———Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Sylvester Williams Lions Jersey . Phoenix originally signed Barbosa to a 10-day contract on Jan. 8 after Eric Bledsoe injured his knee and then signed him to another 10-day deal. Devon Kennard Jersey . I wondered how NHL coaches would feel about a playoff schedule that allowed them to open a best-of-seven series on the road, which many claim to favour, yet still gave them the precious home-ice edge for a seventh game. http://www.authenticnfllionslockroom.com/Youth-DaShawn-Hand-Elite-Jersey/ . - The Baltimore Ravens and tight end Dennis Pitta reached agreement on a five-year contract Friday. Levine Toilolo Lions Jersey . According to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, the New York Rangers winger skated with extras and goalies today. Frank Ragnow Jersey . -- The guys in green raced off the court and into the locker room where they danced and sang, compared whose shot was most likely to end up featured on "One Shining Moment," and checked Twitter to see who was giving them a shoutout.Tom Poti announced his retirement on Thursday after 14 seasons in the NHL. Poti played in 824 regular NHL games with four teams in his career; the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals. He amassed career totals of 69 goals and 258 assists for 327 regular season points. Poti also played in one NHL All-Star Game in 2003 and represented the United States in the Olympics in 2002. "I was very fortunate to play in the National Hockey League for 14 years. It was a dream come true and I had an awesome ride and met so many great people along the way," said Poti. "Id like to thank my family and my wife and children for all their love and support." Poti was drafted in the third round, 59th overall, in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by the Oilers. He debuted with the Oilers in October of 1998 and he scored his first NHL goal against the Detroit Red Wings on November 18, 1998. In his rookie season, he led the Oilers in plus-minus (+10), and scored 21 points in 73 games on his way to being named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. In 2000-01, he recorded career high totals in games played (81) and goals (12), while ranking second among Oilers defencemen in points scored (32) for the second straight season. He helped the Oilers reach the playoffs in each of his first three seasons. Partway through the 2001-02 NHL season, Poti was traded to the Rangers. He played the following three full seasons with the Rangers – including the 2002--03 season when he scored a career high in points (48) and led the team in assists (37).dddddddddddd In 2003-04, he set a career high in game-winning goals (5) which also led the team. Poti helped the Rangers make the playoffs in 2005-06 while he also led the team in blocked shots (123). In July of 2006, Poti signed as a free agent with the Islanders. In his only season on Long Island, Poti set a career high in assists (38) and logged a personal best average ice-time per game (25:43) – most on the team. Poti moved on to the Washington Capitals in 2007, signing as a free agent on July 1 and was a member of the Capitals organization for six seasons. In his first season in Washington, he ranked second on the team in average ice-time per game (23:29), blocked the most shots on the Capitals (119) and scored the second most points among team defencemen (29). In 2008-09, Poti averaged the most shorthanded ice-time per game on the Capitals (4:22) – fifth most in the league – and he scored seven points in 14 playoff games. In 2009-10, he recorded a career high in plus-minus (+26) – ranking fifth among NHL defencemen. Potis 2010-11 season was cut short by injury after just 21 games, the same injury which forced him to miss the entire 2011-12 season. In the owners lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, he played 16 games in his final season before his year ended due to injury. Poti also served as an NHLPA player representative in 2006 as a member of the Rangers. ' ' '