What is adversity?

At first glance it's a pretty benign question, but upon deeper reflection it's really not that easy to answer.

In the sports realm, adversity has become one of the all-time great clichés
and rarely does it refer to anything beyond the misfortune or calamity which
occurs within the context of the contest itself.

However, to some like MFC Light Heavyweight Champion Emanuel Newton, the meaning of adversity hits far closer to home than anything he could possibly
experience inside an MFC ring.

In May 2007, Newton was riding his motorcycle on a Los Angeles freeway when he was bumped by another vehicle at high speeds and sent crashing to the pavement.

"Luckily, I know how to roll from the years I've spent wrestling and fighting," said Newton. "I think I had angels watching over me that night.

I'm blessed to have not hit a bump, or anything, rolling down the freeway at
[nearly 135 mph]."

The accident tore pieces of flesh from Newton's legs, chest, and back - known as "road rash" in the motorcycle community - and also shattered his arm.

"I went in for surgery and had a plate put in the arm," Newton said. "They told me two weeks, then I could come back in and they'd take the stitches out and I could start rehabbing. Before I could start, I ended up getting a staph infection inside of my arm - about six pounds of infected tissue - and I had to go through five surgeries."

At one point, the staph infection was considered to be so serious that Newton's medical team considered the possibility of removing his arm in order to prevent the spread of the infection to his heart.

It didn't come to that, however, and it appears as though Newton has emerged
from the crash a wiser man, "if you're going to be a professional athlete or you really have something to live for then get off the bike. Every biker goes down and it's just a matter of when and how bad."

Since the accident, Newton has also reeled off three consecutive victories -
bringing his record to 11-3-1 overall - and proving that his arm is not a limitation.
In his last fight, "The Hardcore Kid" outpointed then MFC Champion and Canada's own Roger Hollett in a unanimous decision victory. On May 15th he'll look to defend that title against the very tough and experienced Trevor Prangley (19-5). 

"I know [Prangley's] had like 40 fights," Newton said. "I read the interview where he said I'm not going to bring anything that he hasn't seen, but we'll see. Let him underestimate me and let him think he's going to walk through me. He'll have a lot to open his eyes to because I'm going to bring the fight to him. We train hard over here and let him see if he can keep up with my pace."

According to Newton, the real-life adversity he's faced outside of the ring has truly prepared him for anything that Prangley can throw at him.

"Now it's like it doesn't matter what happens to me in a fight," said Newton. "Prangley could put me in a really bad spot during the 3rd or 4th round where I come back to my corner and they tell me I'm behind. All I have to do is just look back to being laid up in the hospital for six or seven months, going through surgeries, and having doctors tell me that they might have to take my arm.
"Nothing is going to stop me from continuing to fight."

MFC 21: Hard Knocks will be held at the River Cree Resort & Casino on Friday, May 15th and broadcast live on HDNet at 10pm EST. Tickets are available by visiting www.ticketmaster.ca or by calling 1-800-451-8000.