Sirwan Kakai is coming off a successful UFC debut at UFC Fight Night 70 in June when he defeated Danny Martinez by decision and he will be looking to improve to 2-0 in the UFC next week when he meets Frankie Saenz at UFC Fight Night 73.
While UFC Fight Night 70 served as the official UFC debut for Kakai (12-2), it was his second experience with the UFC. His previous experience came during The Ultimate Fighter 18 as he was eliminated in the opening round of the competition. He learned a lot from the experience of the reality show, including the fact he was undersized for the division at that time.
“There were a lot of things that did not go well for my preparation for that,” Kakai recently told The MMA Report. “I prepared wrong and I did not believe in myself. I should have not taken that fight honestly. I was not mature as a fighter and a person to be at that level. Maybe I was the way I train — skill wise, I was ready but not physically and mentally. I felt I was a little small for the weight class too so what I did after that fight, I took six months off MMA and just lifted weights to get bigger. I felt like I was a little undersized as a bantamweight.”
Following his win over Martinez at UFC Fight night 70, Kakai was planning to head back to his home country of Sweden to relax and be around his family. His plane ticket was already bought, but all of his plans changed when the UFC offered him the chance to fight Frankie Saenz next week at UFC Fight Night 73.
“Originally, I already had a ticket to go back to Sweden and I could not wait to go back and relax,” he explained. “They offered me the fight and I was like dang. I was thinking about the money and I saw he was ranked in the UFC. I was like this is a big step up and I can make a name for myself. I was thinking about it and I told my coaches that I wanted to do this. I thought this was a great opportunity to showcase my skills. I’m on a roll and I want to keep the ball rolling.”
Anytime a fighter does an interview with anyone in the media, they are not going to give away their game plan. Kakai did admit there is a game plan, but he feels that his skills are superior to Saenz.
“I always have a game plan, but I feel my skills are superior to his skills. I think he is a great fighter, but I think he has not faced someone like me. I think that will show and I know what he is all about. I know the way he fights. He fights in one way and he fights with tenacity. He fights with aggression. He fights with wrestling and he is good in scrambles. That is what he has. I have way more ways to win. I am all-around so I can win wrestling, jiu-jitsu, submit him, and strike with him. I am going to show I am the more skilled fighter. The more intelligent fighter and I think that will show August 8 — I mean, I know I will show it August 8.”
Kakai knows that it’s important to put on a solid performance to continue his rise up the UFC bantamweight rankings and impress the UFC match makers. If he is about to have a statement type performance against Saenz, his next fight could potentially be against a top ten fighter.