There is a saying in sports that when opportunity comes knocking on your door, you have to open that door and that is exactly what Zak Bucia did when Titan FC asked him to step in on two weeks notice to meet Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons at Titan FC 34 tonight.
When most fighters get the call to take a fight on short notice, there immediate thought may be to get on the scale to see how much they weight. However, that is not the case for Bucia as he has been going down to 155 pounds.
“The weight was not really an issue because I have been going down to 155 and I just had a fight not that long ago, Bucia told The MMA Report. “Making 170 for me is pretty easy now. As far as I was concerned, I just had to get a hold of my striking coach and think about it since it was kind of short notice. We had about two weeks of notice and we got on it pretty fast. We did not want to pass up an opportunity to fight Pele because it’s such a great opportunity. It did not take us to long to decide we wanted to do it.”
Along with fighting someone like Pele, was the opportunity to fight on UFC Fight Pass part of the decision to take this fight?
“Of course, that was definitely a big factor too,” he said. “If it was only Pele, that is a big part of it because he is such an awesome and well known opponent. Being involved in UFC Fight Pass and the opportunity to fight on something like that is also definitely a big part of the factor of choosing to go ahead with the opportunity.”
Tonight will likely be the first time a majority of MMA fans see Bucia compete. He enters this fight with two straight wins in Shamrock Promotions and eleven of his thirteen wins have come by stoppage. Eight of those victories have come by submission and basically, it’s not in Bucia’s DNA to be in a boring fight.
“I have never been in a boring fight and I never plan to be in a boring fight,” Bucia explained. “Also, I have only won twice by decision of all my wins. I am always looking for the finish. I am always aggressive and everyone knows Pele is aggressive. I would just say this is going to be an awesome fight.”
Bucia has been fighting since 2007 and this is clearly the biggest opportunity of his career. This is a fight that could potentially skyrocket his career and lead to bigger opportunities. He knows he is facing a dangerous opponent and has to make sure he capitalizes on this opportunity.
“I can not leave any stone unturned as far as my game. Because he is a black belt on the ground and obviously he has knockout wins, dangerous everywhere. The key is not to be lacking in any one space. Be ready to seize the moment at any space because he is so good everywhere. I need to jump on any opportunities that are presented to me. Whether that is standing or on the ground.”