Khaos Williams (his real name is Kailinn, but is there a cooler nickname for a mixed martial artist than Khaos?) returns to the octagon this weekend at UFC Vegas 14. It’s his sophomore outing in the UFC, after a 27-second knockout of Alex Morono at UFC 247.
That’s quite the performance to live up to, but Williams (10-1) told Cageside Press during this week’s UFC Vegas 14 media day that he doesn’t really feel any pressure.
And while he accepts that opponent Abdul Razak Alhassan is a “pretty tough dude,” Williams plans on using their co-main event fight to send a message. “Once I get past him, the UFC and everybody else that’s doubted me, they know I’m here to stay.”
The return of Khaos has been months in the making. It was supposed to come earlier in the year. But just weeks out from his return at UFC Columbus, the event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“At the time it definitely kind of hit me a little hard. Because it was two weeks before I was supposed to fight,” Williams recalled. “I was in tip-top shape, I was looking forward to the fight, I was dieting. Put my social life on mute, put people to the side, getting tunnel-vision focus. So for it to stop like that— I had people buying tickets and everything for the fight. I was looking forward to it.”
Much as he doesn’t feel pressure coming into UFC Vegas 14, Williams tried not to let the cancellation of that bout with Laureano Staropoli get to him. “It definitely hurt a little bit, but at the same time, I never stress about things that I can’t control,” he said.
Williams revealed that he did have an opportunity to return to work a little sooner. The situation in his home state prevented that. “In Michigan our gyms were shut down, everything was pretty shut down. It took a minute for the Governor to open stuff back up for us. Even the YMCA wasn’t open. I had a call, but at the same time, I told them, everything was shut down.”
“I just don’t want to go out there on guts and glory,” Williams added, explained why he turned down an opportunity to fight sooner. “I want to give the fans what they deserve to see, I want to give the people that believe in me what they deserve to see.” Nor does he want to second-guess his craft. “I want to give it everything I have to be at my best.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 14 media day scrum with Khaos Williams above. The event takes place this Saturday, November 14 at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV.
