UFC Vegas 79: Mateusz Gamrot swears he has the best wrestling among UFC lightweights
LAS VEGAS — Fighter after fighter parades to the dais week after week for a UFC news conference and, whether male or female, invariably says some version of the same thing:
I'm in the best shape of my life, I'm totally focused on my opponent and I think I'm closing in on a world championship shot.
The sad truth of that last bit is how wrong most of them are. With roughly 700 fighters on the roster, few of them will ever fight for a title. A lot of them — good fighters — won't even get ranked.
But it's almost a necessity to speak in those terms if you're going to have any success in the world's hardest sport. Imagine fighting someone with years of training in hand-to-hand combat who has spent the past two months training vigorously simply to fight you. It causes plenty of sleepless nights, restless moments and self doubts.
Fighters have to have that kind of belief in themselves if they're to overcome the odds to first get ranked, then to hit the top five, then to fight for a title and, potentially, finally winning gold.
For every Sean O'Malley who as a 14-year-old predicted a world title and then made it come true last month, there are hundreds, if not thousands, who never get close. Confidence is nearly as important to an MMA fighter as physical strength, athletic skill and cardiovascular conditioning.
That brings us to Mateusz Gamrot, the UFC's seventh-ranked lightweight who on Saturday at Apex in the main event of UFC Vegas 79 takes on sixth-ranked Rafael Fiziev.
Gamrot is 22-2 with a no-contest and both of his losses came against quality opponents in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. After starting his pro career 17-0, Gamrot dropped a split decision to Guram Kutateladze on Oct. 18, 2020, on Fight Island. He won his next four, including a thrilling Fight of the Night decision over Arman Tsarukyan, before losing a decision to Beneil Dariush at UFC 280.
The UFC's lightweight division is incredibly deep, and those ahead of Gamrot chasing champion Islam Makhachev are ex-champ Charles Oliveira, BMF champ Justin Gaethje, former interim champ Dustin Poirier, Dariush, Michael Chandler and Fiziev. It's quite a gauntlet to have to get through only to then have to face someone like Makhachev.
Asked who would win the Oct. 22 rematch between Makhachev and Oliveira, Gamrot turned the answer into a referendum on his own skills. He's an elite wrestler and will be taking on one of the game's best, and most exciting, strikers when he meets Fiziev.
In response to a question about who he believes will win the title fight next month, Gamrot said, "I don't care because my wrestling skills always beat a striker. I am only interested in one guy in this lightweight division. He is a wrestler. He is Islam Makhachev."
For the record, he eventually picked Makhachev to win the rematch and said he hoped to fight him within two years. But he didn't shy away when asked if he could hang with Makhachev's wrestling.
"I think so," when asked if his wrestling was better than Makhachev's. "But we'll see. I have to meet him in the Octagon and then fight with him. Then we'll get the answer, 'Who is the better wrestler?' But in my opinion, I'm the best wrestler in the lightweight division. I've taken down everybody and this is no problem for me and I expect the same on Saturday night."
He'll need to take down Fiziev if he's to win, though he insists he's a much more complete fighter than a one-dimensional wrestler. He's coming off a harder-than-expected win over Jalin Turner on March 4 at UFC 285. He took the bout on late notice and didn't have much time to train.
His will to win is really what led him to that victory.
On Saturday, though, he said he'll be in peak form and is confident he'll be able to handle Fiziev.
"I've had a full camp, full preparation [for Fiziev] and I have good stamina and conditioning [to go] 10 rounds," Gamrot said. "Right now, I'm really a different fighter than I was last time."
He oozed with confidence as he spoke. He wasn't so much trying to convince anyone of what he said, but more restating what he believes is the obvious.
Every fighter is filled with confidence prior to a fight when no punches or kicks have been thrown, when no takedowns are attempted and when the whole world isn't watching.
It's the ones who back up that confidence with performance who are the ones we most fondly remember.
Gamrot believes; it's now on him to prove yet again he has reason for his confidence.
