There was a method behind Mauricio Luffy’s mad post-fight callout of UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev last weekend.
“I beat his best sparring partner (Raymond Magomedaliev) in a higher weight class (170 pounds) at the Contender Series, so I thought it was a good opportunity to make a statement,” Laffey told Sherdog.com. Ta. “At the end of the day, the UFC lightweight championship is guaranteed.” [Magomedaliev] He was going to be the new king of the 170-pound division. And Magomedaliev is really tough. Before facing me, he defeated 2023 PFL Light Heavyweight Champion Impa Kasangani, who fights three weight classes above. ”
Luffy had a habit of knocking out famous martial artist sparring partners. Last year, he scored a first-round stoppage of Cornelius Lasker Rotaru, who trained with Irish superstar Conor McGregor.
“A few months before I received my invitation to the Contender Series, I broke my left hand when I knocked out Conor McGregor’s sparring partner Cornelius Lasker in the first round of the Centurion FC Grand Prix,” he said. “Then in the finals I was faced with the extremely difficult task of defending a takedown from former UFC fighter Ronis Torres using only my hips and footwork. It was a hell of a challenge, but I defended every one of his takedown attempts I defended myself and knocked him out in the second round. That’s why when the UFC invited me to the Contender Series, the wound on my hand hadn’t healed yet.”
Realizing he had a lot to prove before facing the champion, Luffy asked the UFC to give him Bobby Green as his next opponent.
“In my Octagon debut, I knocked out a 10-fight UFC veteran in the first round, and I think I showed that I’m on a different level,” he said. “I really hope the UFC gives me a higher level opponent so I can have more competitive challenges and put on a better show for the fans.
“I’d like to fight Bobby Green because the styles fit. He loves stand-up fighting, so I think it would be a war. And I was able to knock him out in the first round.”
