The excitement in the world of mixed martial arts is quite high, with Alex Pereira vs Jiri Procházkathe being the main card for UFC 303. However, the preliminary card has the equal potential to enhance the fans’ entropy. One of the fights in the prelims is between the Californian fighters, Andre Fili and Cub Swanson. After his unfortunate defeat at the hands of Dan Ige at UFC Fight Night 236, Fili is ready to turn his one-fight losing streak into a winning streak.

With 10 of his victories coming from knockouts and 3 by submissions, Fili’s fighting prowess is not something that his opponents can take lightly. But before the fight between the featherweight fighters begins, let’s have a look at the Federal Way-born fighter’s moniker. After all, it’s the nickname that adds up to the intimidation factor before a bout, don’t you think?

Who gave Andre Fili his famous nickname ‘Touchy’?

About 12 years ago, the famed UFC broadcaster, Megan Olivi, sent forth a tweet that proposed the moniker ‘Touchy’. She typed down, “I don’t know if you have a nickname or not, but I propose “touchy” …Andre “Touchy” Fili!!!” Soon after Olivi shared the text on the social media platform, the mixed martial artist took to the comments section and sent a reply. Fili revealed that it was, in fact, a nickname that he had during his time in middle school.

Nevertheless, he took up the moniker and embraced it between his first and last names. He replied, “hahaha that was actually a nickname back in the middle school days, I dig it.” But not long after that, the history behind the origin of Fili’s nickname was lost, until one fine day in 2023, a user account on X wrote in excitement that it was Olivi who provided the moniker to Fili. And to make things imprinted permanently, the UFC broadcaster affirmed it all, typing “this is true”, prefixed by a laughing emoji.

Fili’s confession that his moniker was the same one in middle school raised quite a bit of questions about the mixed martial artist’s childhood. Did his childhood play a part in Fili getting inducted into the world of mixed martial arts? Let’s find out.

Andre Fili describes his childhood

‘Touchy Fili’ first dreamt of getting into the Ultimate Fighting Championship and making a living out of sanctioned fighting when he was just 14 years old. The fighter grew up in a broken home, which was managed by his mother. Needless to say, it was troubling for his mother to run the place with his father, making frequent trips to prison. Fili also revealed that his mother was a victim of domestic violence.

“My dad was pretty violent toward my mom and later on, my mom was sometimes violent toward me. It was kind of a crazy, chaotic household, really. My dad was in and out of jail, and he’s in prison now. There was so much trouble and violence all around me,” he said, as quoted by Yahoo. 

Despite feeling helpless as a kid, Fili decided to change his life, and he moved out of Sacramento in 2009 and joined Team Alpha Male. At that time, he was put under house arrest owing to a physical altercation. However, his probation officer allowed him to go to the gym and train, since it was his job. And then the fighter welcomed change into his life and became a respected fighter in the realm of mixed martial arts. Needless to say, he also achieved his dream of fighting in the UFC.

Will Fili be able to overturn his losing streak in the upcoming fight against Cub Swanson? Let us know what you think in the comments below.