Haris Talundzic (5-0) is ready to make a statement when he headlines LFA 141.
Factory X product Talundzic makes his sixth LFA appearance when he enters the cage on September 9. The 26-year-old has been perfect thus far in his professional career; however, it came at an emotional cost — sort of.
Talundzic lost his first amateur fight in 2016, which ended up being one of the worst moments of his life, but it made him into the fighter he is today.
“Haha, I haven’t talked about it for a long time now, but it was one of the worst moments in my life,” Talundzic told Cageside Press recently. “I say that because in my mind since I started MMA, I have always said this is what I’m going to do for my career. I’m also a very confident guy, so I was instantly confident that it was going to all work out for me. They matched me up with a really tough kid, a tough wrestler, and in my mind, I was like, ‘yeah, it doesn’t matter because I’m a tough wrestler.’ And I went out there, and I just completely gassed out from the adrenaline dump. I didn’t do anything that I was trained to do. I just completely made a fool out of myself, and I lost the fight. I got finished in the third round with, like, 20 seconds left from ground and pound.”
“And yeah, it was just so humiliating. Like, man, I was f*cking ashamed of myself. It was the first time I ever really lost at anything. I had never lost a wrestling match decisively. Like it’s always been close, and I’ve wrestled my whole life. So, losing that fight for me, dude, it just brought a lot of demons out. It put me in a really dark place for a couple of weeks. And now, every single fight since then, I always think about that fight because I do not want to feel the way I felt that night ever again.”
Talundzic has been perfect since that night. He is currently on a 13-fight win streak dating back to his amateur days.
The Bosnian-born fighter has been really active that past year but at the start of his professional career, it was rough because of the pandemic. Talundzic went pro in December of 2019, and four months later, the world shut down, and so did his career.
“It was an absolutely terrible time, man. During that time, it was an epiphany time for me. Because it was like six months into the pandemic, and it seemed like there was no ending to it. With no end in sight, I was like, ‘dude, what am I doing?’ I was 23 or 24 at the time, and I was like, literally just wasting my life when I could be in school. Whatever I put my mind to I succeed at and I work my ass off. So my mindset was like, ‘dude, if I go to school and just graduate, I could just become a CEO somewhere or start a business. Like, what am I doing with this fight shit? And then I got to really thinking about it because I don’t really fight for money, which was the big epiphany for me. The pandemic made me realize, that it really never was about money. It’s always been about passion, my competitive drive and just wanting to prove to myself that I can be the best in the world at something. In my mind, being the best in the world at fighting is one of the most human things a man can do,” Talundzic said.
While the pandemic was a negative experience for him, a positive did come out of it — a gym change.
“I ended up moving gyms during that time. I went from Tristar to Factory X. So in the end, it was actually really great,” Talundzic said. “I hate to say it, but the pandemic was really great for my career because I wouldn’t be the fighter I am today without that change. The culture is crazy, and I feel a part of the family.
Talundzic faces PFL-veteran Chris Brown at LFA 141 in what could be a huge showcase fight, and if all goes well, it will be a huge step in his career. Especially if he goes out there and finishes him in his first main event — something he predicts will happen.
“I think Chris is a stud. I think he’s a dog. It’s the kind of fight I’ve been yearning for just because I feel like a lot of guys I fight tend to break, or they tend to backpedal a little bit and really give me openings to finish them when I get gritty with them. I feel like Chris isn’t that type of guy. He is the type of fighter who he hits you back when you hit him, and it just never ends. It’s a dogfight; you know what I’m saying? There’s no backpedaling for him and outside of his cardio. I don’t see any like, huge deficiencies in his game,” Talundzic said.
“Because he is so damn tough, I fear that I might not be able to finish him so I could see a unanimous decision, 30-27, 30-26, 30-26, where I dominate them all three rounds. But realistically, I believe I will finish him with a knockout or submission. Really, whatever he gives, I’ll take it. I’m very well-conditioned and ready to be explosive at any moment, so Chris is in trouble.”
Haris Talundzic vs. Chris Brown goes down at LFA 141 on September 9 in Vail, Colorado, exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.
