Issue 177

April 2019

The TUF 27 champ on future plans and never needing to look far for his next fight.

I imagine you are generally introduced as the TUF 27 Champion in most instances. I’m sure you are happy with that accomplishment but I hear you are looking to put that time behind you. Why is that the case?

Mike Trizano: My last two fights, the first one was the fight on the finale, and my fight in Denver was against a fellow TUF 27 competitor. I am ready to get in the mix of the lightweight or maybe even the featherweight division. I haven’t decided whether I want to go back down or not. I am ready to take on somebody with some UFC experience. I want to get in the mix, man.

At Ultimate Fight Night 139 in Denver you scored a big win over fellow TUF 27 contestant Luis Pena. He came in with a ton of hype. In a weird way you defended the TUF 27 title. Now with some time away from the fight what are your takeaways from that night?

I think I executed my game plan really well. There is always room for improvement. I definitely think I could have done a little more. My timing felt on. I was landing everything. I was getting out of the way and I was able to land strikes on him at will. If I had put together a few bigger combinations I think I could have finished the fight. I was happy with my performance and I am looking forward to building on it.  

You were a little upset with the perceived lack of respect going in. Pena had a lot of buzz even though you won the show. Did you feel disrespected or overlooked going into the fight?

I didn’t feel disrespected but I definitely felt overlooked. People just assumed he was going to win, for what reason I have no idea. That was just how it was. He has a great marketing thing with his name and his look. He just blew up. Good for him and his career. I was underestimated and I proved everyone wrong. It felt good.

You mentioned getting in the mix within the division. Who are you thinking would be a good fight for you at this point?

I would like to fight someone in the top fifteen. Whether I deserved it yet or not, I guess that is up to the UFC. I would like to test my worth. I am super confident in my skills. I feel like I can hang with the best in the world. I want to test myself and show everybody I am here to stay. 

Speaking of callouts, you were tweeting recently, getting a good laugh at some of the callouts. What are your thoughts of all the guys with your name in their mouth? 

A bunch of guys have called me out. That is exactly why I tweeted at Paul Felder, actually. In my post-fight interview he asked if I wanted to call anyone out. I said I don’t call people out. I tweeted him that this is exactly why I don’t call people out. They come to me. They call me out. It is a good problem to have. I don’t have to be sitting on the sidelines waiting for a fight. People want to fight me, so, hey it’s cool. I don’t have to look for one. I want to fight somebody with more experience. I am looking forward. I don’t want to look back. I want to fight somebody with a name. 

What has been the fight of your life to this point?

Honestly, I always feel like my last fight means the most because it is a reflection of how much I have improved. It is also a look into what I need to improve on and where I am going to be. I think I get better and better with each fight. Everybody is going to say that but I really feel like I am constantly evolving. I am an exciting up-and-coming fighter and everybody should be watching out for me because I am coming. 

What fighters have inspired you over the years?

Donald Cerrone was definitely one of them. I was super pumped that I got to fight on the same card as he did. It was surreal. He has been around for so long. I watched him from the beginning of my career up until now. I still watch him. He is an awesome dude. I got the chance to meet him there. He is a super nice guy. He is really down to earth and he is a badass fighter. He always puts on a show. He was always one of the guys I looked up to coming up.     

What would you be doing with yourself if not for a career in MMA?

I would probably be in the military. I have always liked to push myself and test my limits. I had a really hard time in school. I wasn’t good with it. I didn’t want to go to college or anything like that. I was good at physical stuff. I played sports my whole life but martial arts is what I took to the most. I went to a ton of boot camps growing up. I just really enjoyed it. I had friends that wanted to be cops and things like that. I would just tag along and go to boot camps with them. If fighting fell through, I would probably be serving my country.