Tyler King will be stepping up on two weeks notice to meet Mike Mucitelli in a catchweight bout of 225 pounds at CES MMA 28 next Friday night in Rhode Island. 
King (8-2) was a participant on The Ultimate Fighter 19 as a light heavyweight and he is coming off a submission win last month in a heavyweight bout at NEF Fight Night 16 against Terry Blackburn.
The former University of Connecticut football player admitted to The MMA Report, that one of the lessons he learned from his experience during The Ultimate Fighter 19 is that he is a heavyweight fighter, not a light heavyweight.
“That was one of the main lessons I took from it,” King said. “I definitely took some lessons about the sociology of mixed martial arts and where I need to be mentally when I am getting ready for a fight. Also, you have to respect your body. Some guys can really handle a huge weight cut and I can’t.”
“I think part of the issues was that I was conditioning my body to do that weight cut three times in six weeks. My walking around weight definitely dropped a little bit. Significantly lower than what I would walk around at if I was doing a single light heavyweight fight. Maybe somewhere down the road, but I tell your right now, I am a heavyweight.”
Next Friday night, he will meet Mucitelli in a bout that is listed on the official bout sheet as a cruiserweight bout, which the weight limit will be 225 pounds. Since he had a quick fight last month and his weight was good, King accepted the fight against Mucitelli last week.
“Some people know that I did the Ultimate Fighter as a light heavyweight,” he said. “In the end, the weight cut to 205 just did not work for me sociology or physically. I just did not feel like myself. I normally walk around about 245 pounds and I just fought on February 7. Did not really take any damage and felt pretty good heading into it. My weight did not ballon or anything.”
“I treated myself to a couple really crappy meals but it was not that bad. I was around the 245 range when I got the call that this fight might happen. There were a few things that had to be ironed out so I told myself to start dieting now. I really never stopped training so the weight has melted off and to be perfectly honest, I am pretty close to where I need to be right now.”
The fight against Mucitelli is something that King has wanted for some time as Mucitelli is considered one of the better 205 pound fighters in the northeast that is not currently in the UFC. King is not a trash talker and is not trying to disrespect his opponent, he just feels that Mucitelli is just not as good as him.
“When the fight was proposed to me, it was a no brainer. It’s nothing personal. I do not have any ill will towards Mike, nothing like that. I have wanted to fight him for awhile. I see who he is and to be perfectly honest, again this is not a slight and I am not talking trash. I think Mike is a less refined version of an earlier me. If you took me a year ago and that will be Mike, because he is not as good.”
“I think that we are similar but I think I am better everywhere. This is a fight I want because he is highly ranked. There are different polls out there, but he is pretty much considered the best light heavyweight fighter in the northeast that is not signed by the UFC. With that in mind, I want to test myself. I want this win. I want to go and make a statement on national TV.”