Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC
Check out the sixth episode of Embedded for UFC 251.
UFC 251, the UFC’s official ‘Fight Island’ debut delivers three title fights on a thoroughly action-packed card. Previewing the upcoming festivities, and giving an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at this unprecedented event, is UFC Embedded, which just dropped its sixth episode.
The episode starts at the W Hotel on the now famous Yas Island, on the outer edge of Abu Dhabi. There we find former UFC featherweight champ Max Holloway getting his sweat on in the early hours. Holloway’s head coach Rylan Lizares reveals that an unexpected hiccup has happened during the weight cut. The team had brought special heaters over to the UAE, but they blew when they tried to use them (the local power outlets seemingly weren’t compatible with the heaters). Despite that, though, we will eventually see Holloway make it to the scale and hit championship weight.
Before he weighs in we see UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman doing media. Here’s what he said regarding breaking an opponent’s will:
“There’s a reason I love to break guys over the course of the entire fight. Because you land a quick punch and you knock a guy out in the first round the guy can carry on with his career saying, ‘Oh man, I got caught.’ But when you beat their ass from start to finish, the whole time, and outclass him completely it breaks them internally, it takes something away from them that they can never gain back.”
UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski is profiled, too. He’s shown cutting weight in his room and seeming pretty up beat about the whole thing—even though he has to sit in a mini tent with just his head popping out. Like everyone else in the championship fights, though, he’ll have no issues on the scales.
Later we are shown some behind-the-scenes shots of fighters weighing in. That leads us to the face-masked face-offs. As always Embedded gives us our best chance at hearing trash talk in these intimate moments. Petr Yan and Jose Aldo don’t care about that, though. The bantamweight title challengers were silent in their stare-down.
Volkanovski and Holloway didn’t have much to say, either. They kept it respectful with a nod and a fist bump.
The BMF champion, and welterweight title challenger, Jorge Masvidal didn’t disappoint, though. He told Usman, “I’m gonna have fun with your ass tomorrow.”
We’ll see what he means by that tonight!