Alyse Anderson returns to the ONE Championship Circle at ONE 168: Denver to face Victoria Souza. But her road back to the Circle was not easy.
In 2023, Anderson suddenly had intense pain that forced an emergency visit to the hospital.
“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 said to ONE.
The cause of the pain was a ruptured cyst. After hours in surgery, “Lil’ Savage” thought she would be on the mend.
Instead, she continued to drop weight and could not sustain any meal.
“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,” Anderson recalled.
As her body continued to get smaller due to the sickness, Anderson struggled to even look at herself. She was resigned to the fact her career may be finished.
“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 29-year-old stated.
“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.”
After several visits to doctors, a growth was discovered on Anderson’s liver. Once removed, “Lil’ Savage” began gradually improving.
Now fully healthy, the 29-year-old has been able to reflect on that period in her life and draw lessons from it moving forward.
“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 remarked.
Stepping back into the gym was not easy. However, Anderson embodied the spirit of martial arts and dedicated herself to improving incrementally day by day.
“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,” the atomweight said.
“It was slow at first, but I just continually kept going, and I slowly started to see it was improving.”
When she was finally able to commit fully to a training camp, Anderson broke down, knowing she was finally back.
On the other side of a health scare, “Lil’ Savage” is ready to showcase her skills and rejoin the race for atomweight gold at ONE 168.
“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,” Anderson 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 on Prime Video at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Friday, September 6. Remaining tickets are available via Ticketmaster.