In a battle where the deck was stacked against him, Chip Mariscal (14-6 MMA, 1-0 UFC) He did well in his UFC debut when he won a unanimous decision over the previously undefeated Trevor Peck (8-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC).
Mariscal took the fight in 10 days, moving up a weight class and at a venue in Jacksonville where Beck received a lot of support from those who made the trek from his native Alabama.
Mariscal said he loves defeating undefeated fighters, especially those like Beck who have a 100% finish rate. He entered the match with a “This is my time to shine” attitude.
Machine Gun didn’t have much time to watch Peek, but said his corner did a good job of analyzing his opponent’s tendencies.
“The moral of the game plan was to have him wrestle and wrestle because we didn’t see him wrestle or wrestle,” Mariscal told MMASucka. “We thought putting some weight on him would be good, some pressure and keeping him slumping backwards would make him tired.”
Mariscal did not immediately follow grappling, wanting to hit with Peek to get a feel for his angles and shots.
“He has one of the craziest punches I’ve ever had,” Mariscal said. “I obviously don’t have any such training partners. I was learning while I was fighting against him, but I felt like I clearly had the upper edge.”
Mariscal’s experience and technique won the day as Beck bounced back from the ranks of the undefeated with a 30-27 knockout score across the board.
Mariscal, a natural featherweight, enters the UFC with a sneaky good resume, having fought many of the now successful fighters in the octagon. holds victories Pat Sabatini And Youssef Zalal Sabatini is 5-1 in the UFC, while Zallal went 3-3-1 before he was cut.
Marshal also fought Gregor Gillespie (previously rated lightweight), Brice Mitchell (No. 12 Featherweight), Joanderson PrietoAnd Steve Garcia And Sean Soriano, who all fought in the octagon. More TKO than ground pound Guilherme Faria Mariscal got his shot.
Mariscal thought his chance would come after defeating Zalal, but it took him seven more fights and three straight victories.
“A lot of big promotions want this undefeated record,” Mariscal said. “They want guys who will make the promotion look better. Fans love undefeated fighters. I love veteran fighters. Like the ones who lost and who were able to lose, come back and actually bid and actually be a fighter. They don’t go out there just throw anything. I wanted to.” Being that example is like, “Man, I’ve lost to some of the greatest guys in the UFC, who’s ranked and everything else. I’ve beaten some of those guys. My career isn’t perfect in terms of records, but everything else can be viewed as I want to be a fighter. I know [the UFC] He loves people on the mic and people who do cool things outside of the UFC, like helping others. They’ve already had a taste of who I am, and I hope next time I get that respect that I deserve.”
Mariscal said he wants to recoup his losses, even to go up to 155 and bring Gillespie back. But he would also be open to a rematch with someone like Sabatini.
“Even those guys that I beat, I’d give them a chance, but if we’re ranked. If we get paid for that stuff,” Mariscal said. “Man, I just love the fighting game. I love competitiveness. Like, “Oh, they want to chase me?” That would be great, because outside of the UFC, I’ve been doing more hunting. Like, “Do you want to fight me?” It was not? darn.'”
Mariscal hopes that a win over Peek will propel him towards the higher tier of his 145 natural weight class and the rematches that await him there. But he knows he has to work first to catch up with fellow competitors who had a strong start in the UFC over him.
“If they want to fight, great. I hope we get a main card or I have a chance where I can get ranked. There needs to be a lot of things in place for there to be rematches. I know featherweight is a big department. I know if I Continued to make these gains, I will eventually run into these guys.”
Mariscal didn’t have anyone in mind who he’d like to fight next. But he is open to competing against anyone.
I’m not afraid of fighting anyone. I’m ready to go out there and do what I have to do. I will fight whoever fights with me.”
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