San Diego, CA — UFC light heavyweight Devin Clark will fight in front of a live crowd for the first time in years at UFC San Diego this Saturday.
Clark (13-6) has fought at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas for four straight fights, all empty house shows as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The San Diego show seems to be a nice change of pace with that in mind.
“It’s super-cool. It’s been like two years since I’ve fought in front of an audience,” Clark told media outlets including Cageside Press during Wednesday’s media day. “So it’s going to be super-cool and add that little bit of flair that you get with a live crowd.”
Brown is set to face unbeaten Dana White’s Contender Series alum Azamat Murzakanov, and he has already had an encounter with his opponent at the host hotel. Who appears to want to take his head off already, Clark added.
“He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to, either,” said Clark, recalling that earlier on Wednesday, “I get in the elevator and he’s in there with his team, three of them. And I get in there and he’s in the middle, so he’s behind me. We’re going down, we’re on the tenth floor, we’re going down and I see behind me, he’s just moving back and forth, getting all giddy and getting ready. So I had to like, turn around, like ‘bro we’re good, we’re not fighting until Saturday.’ But I could tell he’s excited and he wants to rip my head off right now.”
That said, Clark has had no real issues during fight week. “I’ve been doing this a while. It’s fight week, it’s fun. It used to be, I don’t leave the room without one of my corners, but not anymore. It’s safe.”
It’s been six years since Devin Clark made his way to the UFC, and he’s particularly proud of how he’s developed into a fighter capable of using all his tools.
“I think when I started with the UFC, I couldn’t strike worth sh*t. It was not good. I was super-green, I think I got signed because of my wrestling ability — I had super-aggressive wrestling,” he told Cageside Press. “And over the years, it’s kinda gone back and forth where I get a little bit better at striking, then my wrestling kind of goes downhill a little bit. But I think I’m at the point now where I’m well-versed enough to use all of those tools, to use the wrestling with the striking and vice versa. And I am with a new team now, Team Elevation in Denver, Colorado, and I feel like a new fighter now, I really do.”
Watch the full UFC San Diego media day scrum with Devin Clark above. The event takes place this Saturday, August 13, 2022 at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California.
