It’s been an interesting year for Abel Trujillo.
The lightweight powerhouse put himself on the larger radar of the 155-pound scale back in February when he emerged as the last man standing in an all-out slug fest with Jamie Varner back at UFC 169. It was a back-and-forth affair, with both men finding a home for their respective power with frequency, but it was Trujillo who landed the shot that counted as he claimed the biggest win of his career, but two performance-of-the-night bonuses in the process.
Following a victory of that caliber, Trujillo seemed poised for much bigger things, but the fight game is a tricky beast and the Team Blackzilians fighter would watch opponent after opponent pull out with injury. Three fighters in total would fail to make it to the Octagon to face the heavy-handed Iowa native, then a scheduled tilt with Ross Pearson would fall by the wayside due to Trujillo suffering an injury of his own.
Those circumstances would undoubtedly be enough to rattle even the most focused fighter, and while Trujillo will be the first to admit all the starting and stopping in his training camps weren’t the easiest things to manage, they served to test a mental fortitude he’s grown quite proud of. Therefore, when the bout with Tony Ferguson at UFC 181 was announced, “Killa” jumped right back into the proverbial saddle to sharpen up his skill set.
“I believe that whatever type of vibrations you put out into the universe is what you are going to get back,” Trujillo told Bleacher Report. “That’s why you don’t see me putting any negative things out there and why I always keep it positive. I keep my mental locked on the positives and I know good things are going to come.
Furthering what Trujillo believes is coming his way, The 31-year-old lightweight is confident it’s his time to shine. He plans on making a strong run up the competitive ranks of the lightweight division, and that mission jumps off against “El Cucuy” on Saturday night Las Vegas where Trujillo plans to make the biggest statement of his career at UFC 181.
“It feel great to be getting back in there,” Trujillo said. “I haven’t fought since February and that’s been nine or 10 months that have gone by. It feels good to be fighting again and it’s long overdue. I’m excited to preform and I’m coming into this fight injury free. I feel blessed, man. I got an opponent who will be there on fight night and I couldn’t ask for anything else.
“This fight with Ferguson is either going to separate the winner and put them into the top 15, or put one of us in a situation where they are back to just fighting in regular bouts. This fight is pretty much a career changer for me so it’s very important.”
“It’s one thing to be an exciting fighter, but when you are an exciting fighter who is getting dominant wins in there they can’t deny you,” he added. “They have to put your name up there with the title.”
When it comes to exciting styles, neither Trujillo nor Ferguson are in short supply. Both have built their respective reputations for bringing the ruckus each and every time out, and Trujillo believes their upcoming tilt at UFC 181 will be no different. Where Trujillo’s power is enough to discourage the majority of his opponents to stand toe-to-toe with him, he believes The Ultimate fighter alum may roll the dice against him in the striking realm.
If Ferguson decides to take a different route in the fight, Trujillo is confident he’ll be ready for that as well, and those dynamics have fight fans thinking this tilt could steal the show on the stacked card that features two title fights at UFC 181.
“It’s hard to say what Ferguson is going to do,” Trujillo said. “He stands in a lot of his fights, but I think he’s going to try to wrestle me. But it’s MMA so you never know. You never go into a fight with a solid game plan because you have to be able to adapt and improvise.
“A lot of people have been talking on Twitter about this fight having the potential to be the fight of the night. And I think that’s very agreeable. Tony likes to come forward and is very aggressive just like I come forward and I’m very aggressive. This fight has fireworks written all over it. Neither guy backs up and this is going to be a great fight.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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