“The worst pain I’ve ever had” – Alyse Anderson talks about health scares that almost ended her MMA career

Just a few months ago, Alyse “Lil' Savage” Anderson thought her time as an elite mixed martial arts fighter was over.

The 29-year-old is now preparing to face Brazilian fighter Victoria “Vick” Souza in an atomweight MMA contest at ONE 168: Denver on September 6. And considering everything she's been through, just stepping into the circle at Ball Arena is a huge victory.

Last summer, Anderson was spending a day fishing with her father near their home in Coconut Creek, Florida, when she felt an enormous pain in her pelvis that she describes as “10 out of 10.”

The American recently commented on the situation to onefc.com:

“I couldn't walk. I was crying and screaming at my dad to call 911. Even when we were in the hospital waiting room, I said, 'Call 911,' and he said, 'We're already there.' I was just so out of it, so miserable. It was the worst pain I've ever been in.”

Working as quickly as they could, doctors found a ruptured cyst that was causing internal bleeding. Over the next ten hours, surgeons worked to remove it.

At first, Anderson was relieved that the incident was behind her, but when she returned to her native Michigan to rest and recover, her health only seemed to deteriorate further.

When she's at her best, “Lil' Savage” is muscular and athletic. But at this time, her weight dropped dangerously low – under 100 pounds – and she lost all her energy:

“I just couldn't keep food down. I was nauseous and vomiting all the time, which is why I got so small. I didn't eat anything because I was always so sick. I just didn't feel good.”

Desperate to get her life back on track, Anderson spoke to as many doctors as she could. Many of them said her symptoms were typical and she would have to wait until she got over them.

Now she can look back on the dark times when it seemed as if she would never compete again:

“I gave up on my career. I was so caught up in the thought that I would never fight again. I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror when I brushed my teeth or took a shower. I no longer looked athletic. I felt so weak.

“It really affected me because I no longer saw myself when I looked in the mirror. I was just skin and bones and didn't feel strong or powerful or like an athlete.”

Eventually, doctors discovered a possibly cancerous tumor on Anderson's liver, which they believed was the cause of her illness.

Fortunately, it wasn't cancer and the tumor was removed, allowing Anderson to finally recover properly. The whole ordeal, she says, was horrific:

“It was something that was out of my control, and now that I've gotten through it, I can look back and feel like I've learned a lot about myself.”

Alyse Anderson's difficult return to training

For Alyse Anderson, full recovery was just one step on her journey back to life as a fighter. The next step was returning to training.

Last January, she started at her new gym, the prestigious Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. After spending months on the sidelines, nothing came easy to her:

“When I started training again, I definitely felt like I was starting from the bottom. I kept telling myself if I just show up every day, I'll get better. If I just show up every day, I'll get better, and eventually I started to.

“It was slow at first, but I just kept going and slowly noticed that it was getting better.”

During those first few days of returning to training, Anderson pushed her body to the limit.

Although she felt sluggish and out of shape, she was happy to be exhausted – to feel like she finally had her body back:

“I remember the first time I fought hard and had that feeling when you're so tired that you can't breathe at all after the bell goes off. Like your heart is beating in your head. I started crying when I had that feeling because it was like, 'Ohh, I hate feeling like this,' but I had missed that feeling.

“I feel that because I did that to my body, because I achieved what I wanted in those rounds, and I feel like I can definitely appreciate the sport a lot more mentally – and my health a lot more too.”

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“The worst pain I’ve ever had” – Alyse Anderson talks about health scares that almost ended her MMA career

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