Soukhamthath back home to help friend

Woonsocket native will be in Soriano’s corner tonight

LINCOLN — Woonsocket native Andre Soukhamthath will be back in the CES MMA octagon tonight at the Twin River Events Center.

No, Soukhamthath isn’t fighting in CES MMA 51 to regain his title. The UFC bantamweight returned to the Ocean State from his home in Florida to be in the corner of longtime friend and Providence native Sean Soriano, who will face Bruce Boyington for the vacant CES MMA featherweight world title.

“Sean is my brother and our friendship goes back 12 years,” Soukhamthath said Thursday afternoon after Twin River’s Wicked Good Bar & Grill.

“He invited me down to Florida to train with him for two weeks and I liked it. It was a good career move at the time for me. We were friends up here, but we became really close down there.

“He was the first Rhode Island UFC fighter to sign and I was the second. We talk a lot. I’m going to be giving him instructions. He feels comfortable with me in his corner.”

Tonight’s fight will be the first time Soukhamthath will be in the octagon since his much publicized three-round battle with Sean O’Malley in March at UFC 222 in Las Vegas. In that fight, O’Malley appeared to injury his foot, but instead of fighting from a stand-up position, the Woonsocket native elected to grapple with injured O’Malley.

The 23-year-old from Arizona earned a unanimous decision in what was voted the fight of the night, but Soukhamthath was criticized from all corners for his tactics. UFC color analyst Joe Rogan called it “the single worst decision in UFC history.” Soukhamthath also spared with critics on Twitter.

“I moved on from all the criticism when I said ‘Screw it, I’m done. I don’t care about what these people say because they don’t pay my bills,’” Soukhamthath said. “Once I realized that nothing they say is important to me, I moved on. I’m going to bounce back and I can’t wait to prove everyone wrong – the media, the critics and myself.”

Soukhamthath said he’s rewatched the fight and was “very aggravated,” with how he attacked O’Malley, but he said he’s moved past it and on to the next opportunity. Of course, Soukhamthath’s next opportunity is still up in the air because the UFC hasn’t picked an opponent or a date for the former CES MMA bantamweight champion.

The big reason he hasn’t fought in five months is because of an MCL injury Soukhamthath suffered while training to fight O’Malley. Soukhamthath said he’s getting close to 100 percent and is eying a return to the octagon in late October.

The UFC does have a Fight Night on October 27 in the Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada and UFC 230 is the following Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.

“I had a big injury before my last fight – no excuses,” Soukhamthath said. “I almost tore my MCL in my right knee and it was ruptured about 75 percent. I would say it’s about 90 percent right now. My whole camp last time I fought was physical therapy and I only had three weeks to actually train for the fight. I just want to take time and be healthy, that’s the most important thing. I want to focus on health and family.”

In lieu of fighting, Soukhamthath spent the summer doing his most important job – being a father. While his wife, Jamie Thompson, was in China for work, Soukhamthath was home taking care of his two young children. “I clean the house, I do the dishes, I cook and I drop the kids off at school,” Soukhamthath said.

Soukhamthath has also been less prolific on Twitter where his last tweet was on June 18 when he tweeted “Hey media.... It takes 2 people to put on FOTN [fight of the night],” about a match at UFC Fight Night 89.

“All that extra stuff is there and when the spotlight needs to be on, the ‘Asian Sensation’ comes out,” Soukhamthath said. “When there’s nothing going on and nothing to market, I’m just a dad – a regular dad helping my family out at home. I’m focused on fighting and family. Building my legacy is the most important thing to me.”

Even though he’s dropped three of his four fights – all by decision – in his UFC career, Soukhamthath still harbors the dream of being the best in the world before he retires and – he hopes – opens up his own gym.

“I’ve hit setbacks, but I’m used to that. I’m a guy from Rhode Island who’s worked for everything I have,” Soukhamthath said. “I’m going to keep working for what I want to get. My goal is still to win a world title in the UFC. That’s why I took a long break and I’m off social media. That’s not my life. I’m a hard-working family man who loves to fight.”