Waylon Lowe has found a home for himself in the featherweight division, and he’s going to hostile territory again for his first title since leaving the UFC.
In his first trip to Brazil this past April, Lowe battled Marcos dos Santos for three rounds in the main event of XFC International 4, but two of the judges scored the bout in favor of the Brazilian. The decision was so controversial that Brazilian MMA Confederation (CBMMA) overturned it to a no-contest, and XFC promoters awarded Lowe a shot at the featherweight title.
“It was pretty a one-sided fight,” Lowe told MMAFighting.com of his bout with dos Santos earlier this year. “It was the first I ever fought outside the United States, so I thought it would be a lot different. I just didn’t know what to expect. Now I’m more used to it.
“It’s the same,” he continued. “I knew that the Brazilian fans were passionate and that they would be loud, so I anticipated that.”
Lowe feels “relaxed, calm and confident” heading into XFC International 6. Headlining Saturday night’s card in Sao Paulo against 145-pound champion Deivison Ribeiro live on free TV in Brazil, Lowe doesn’t know what to expect from “Dragon.”
“I don’t know what to expect. I expect it to be a tough fight,” he said. “I think he’s gonna keep the distance, doing a lot of backing up. You know, trying to keep me on the outside. That’s what I think he’s going to do. I don’t think he’ll come forward. I think he’ll stay away.”
Lowe, who fought for the UFC, WSOF and Bellator during his 20-fight career, changed a few things in his training regime for the five-round bout, even if he doesn’t expect it to go 25 minutes.
“I did more cardio, I did more rounds,” he said. “I think I’ll have to mix it up and do a little bit of both (ground and striking). I think I’m gonna knock him out.
“It’s the turnaround. I want to turn everything around with a win here. That’s how I’m motivated. I’m ready to go.”
Lowe entered the UFC in 2010, when he was in a five-fight winning streak, but couldn’t keep the streak alive inside the Octagon. Wins over Steve Lopez and Willamy Freire were sandwiched by losses to Melvin Guillard and Nik Lentz, and his UFC career was over.
Three years later, he isn’t thinking about the UFC anymore.
“I don’t know. I don’t know if I wanna go anywhere, I just wanna keep fighting,” Lowe said. “Whoever keeps me the busiest, there’s where I wanna be. You know, just fight the most that I can, as long as I can.
“Whatever, man. Whatever. It’s the same to me.”
Taking place at the Castelo Branco gymnasium in Araraquara, Sao Paulo, XFC International 6 will crown the first XFCi women’s strawweight champion in the co-main event, with Vanessa Guimaraes (3-2) taking on Vanessa Melo (3-2).
Waylon Lowe has found a home for himself in the featherweight division, and he’s going to hostile territory again for his first title since leaving the UFC.
In his first trip to Brazil this past April, Lowe battled Marcos dos Santos for three rounds in the main event of XFC International 4, but two of the judges scored the bout in favor of the Brazilian. The decision was so controversial that Brazilian MMA Confederation (CBMMA) overturned it to a no-contest, and XFC promoters awarded Lowe a shot at the featherweight title.
“It was pretty a one-sided fight,” Lowe told MMAFighting.com of his bout with dos Santos earlier this year. “It was the first I ever fought outside the United States, so I thought it would be a lot different. I just didn’t know what to expect. Now I’m more used to it.
“It’s the same,” he continued. “I knew that the Brazilian fans were passionate and that they would be loud, so I anticipated that.”
Lowe feels “relaxed, calm and confident” heading into XFC International 6. Headlining Saturday night’s card in Sao Paulo against 145-pound champion Deivison Ribeiro live on free TV in Brazil, Lowe doesn’t know what to expect from “Dragon.”
“I don’t know what to expect. I expect it to be a tough fight,” he said. “I think he’s gonna keep the distance, doing a lot of backing up. You know, trying to keep me on the outside. That’s what I think he’s going to do. I don’t think he’ll come forward. I think he’ll stay away.”
Lowe, who fought for the UFC, WSOF and Bellator during his 20-fight career, changed a few things in his training regime for the five-round bout, even if he doesn’t expect it to go 25 minutes.
“I did more cardio, I did more rounds,” he said. “I think I’ll have to mix it up and do a little bit of both (ground and striking). I think I’m gonna knock him out.
“It’s the turnaround. I want to turn everything around with a win here. That’s how I’m motivated. I’m ready to go.”
Lowe entered the UFC in 2010, when he was in a five-fight winning streak, but couldn’t keep the streak alive inside the Octagon. Wins over Steve Lopez and Willamy Freire were sandwiched by losses to Melvin Guillard and Nik Lentz, and his UFC career was over.
Three years later, he isn’t thinking about the UFC anymore.
“I don’t know. I don’t know if I wanna go anywhere, I just wanna keep fighting,” Lowe said. “Whoever keeps me the busiest, there’s where I wanna be. You know, just fight the most that I can, as long as I can.
“Whatever, man. Whatever. It’s the same to me.”
Taking place at the Castelo Branco gymnasium in Araraquara, Sao Paulo, XFC International 6 will crown the first XFCi women’s strawweight champion in the co-main event, with Vanessa Guimaraes (3-2) taking on Vanessa Melo (3-2).