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While diving headfirst without full understanding is admirable, Worthy quickly learned the many levels that come with the fight game.
“If someone would’ve told me what I had to go through in order to get there and just to get to where I’m at now, I probably would’ve said, ‘No, thank you,’” Worthy told UFC.com. “I came back to Pittsburgh, (and) I told my older brother – I’m a real chill, real non-confrontational type person. That’s just how I am. When I told my older brother I was going to be a fighter, he was like, ‘Dude, you have no idea what you’re getting into.”
His road to the UFC was by no means a fast track to the highest level. Two months shy of his 32nd birthday, however, he got his shot and made the most of it, scoring a short-notice, first-round knockout over the ultra-hyped Devonte Smith at UFC 241.
“Everything just fell into place,” Worthy said. “I was just super geeked about it.”
On first glance, it was hard to tell what Worthy did to viciously stun Smith, but looking closely, a pair of sneaky counter shots found their home on Smith’s chin and temple.
Worthy was now a UFC winner and performance bonus earner, and it was the product of a trait discovered on his first day in the gym.
“I have a very herky-jerky form of timing and understanding of length and space,” Worthy said. “I tell people I’m like f****** Doctor Strange. Doctor Strange isn’t your typical superhero. His things are just different, just odd. They’re not proper, and that’s just how my fighting style is. Even my first UFC fight, that didn’t look like a hard punch or anything, but it was. That’s just how I am.”
After his memorable debut, he was eager to get back in the Octagon for an encore performance. A couple of bouts in the following months fell through, but things were headed in the right direction when the Pittsburgh-based Worthy got a call to fight in Brooklyn at UFC 249, the card that was ultimately pushed back and rescheduled in Jacksonville due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Worthy didn’t compete on that May card, but he finally gets his chance to make magic happen once again when he fights Luis Pena on June 27.