My First Time Sparring “The Spider” | FightCamp’s Flo Master

Every fighter remembers their first time stepping into the ring to spar. The wave of emotions, the fear of getting hit or being able to hit, it’s truly an unforgettable experience. Here, FightCamp Trainer Flo Master shares his experience of stepping into the octagon for a sparring session he’ll never forget, how he got beat up, and why he enjoyed every minute of it.

You may be thinking, why would anyone who got beat up love it? Well, when it happens to be Anderson Silva delivering the beating, most fighters would consider that an honor.

Who Is “The Spider”?

Anderson “The Spider” Silva is without a doubt one of the best UFC fighters of all-time. For six years, Silva ruled as king of the middleweight division, going undefeated during his title reign. His unorthodox fighting style, crowd-pumping flair, and electrifying knockouts make him a fan favorite – and his record in the octagon is beyond impressive with some legendary fights. So, when FightCamp’s Flo Master had a chance to go toe-to-toe with Silva, needless to say, Silva didn’t hold anything back.

[Spoiler Alert: The two are still friends today!]

How It All Began

Flo Master had been training in mixed martial arts for quite some time when his training partner called him up and said he needed to get down to the gym. Although his training session was still three hours away, Flo decided to head to the gym earlier than expected. Once he got there, Flo saw why he was summoned so early... Anderson Silva was there and gearing up to spar.

After a warm-up session, Flo and his partner geared up to do some MMA sparring too. As soon as the first bell rang, Silva moved Flo’s partner aside and said, “I fight him.” In Flo’s mind, all he could think was holy ****.

The Fight

The bell rang and they began fighting each other. As much as Flo would have liked to perform better, Silva was in a league of his own. Silva began elbowing, kneeing, and clinching Flo with ease. But did Flo give up? Not even close. He was laughing and having a great time, even as he got beat up, knowing that it was by one of the best middleweights of all-time.

Needless to say, that beating started a long-term friendship. As soon as the sparring session was over, Silva said, “We family now,” and the two have remained friends ever since that butt-whooping. After the session, Flo was so excited to share the news of his fight that he called his mother and told her about the beating he just received. Like most mothers, she wasn’t as thrilled and didn’t quite share his enthusiasm, even though it was by Silva.

Happily Beaten, Fight On

Most fighters will remember their first fight, their first win, and their first loss. However, most would not be nearly as happy to have taken a beating as Flo – but when the beating is done by Anderson Silva, we bet some would eagerly make that the exception.

Train Like a Fighter

Take your workouts to the next level and train like a fighter with the at-home connected fitness solution used by world champion boxers Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather. FightCamp has everything you need to work out on your schedule, with premium boxing equipment and hundreds of on-demand strength, conditioning, kickboxing, boxing, core, and recovery classes led by real fighters. As Mike Tyson said - “FightCamp is the next level of training!”