Since this past season of Contender Series, we’ve already seen a number of the graduates debut in the UFC. Both Bonfim brothers picked up big wins last month down in Brazil. Joe Pyfer, Raul Rosas Jr, Daniel Marcos, Mateusz Rębecki – they’ve all made a statement already in the UFC.
Blake Bilder on the other hand, is still waiting for his debut, which will finally come this weekend at UFC 284. Despite coming out of his August bout unscathed, he’s waited half a year to get back in there. However, that time off has been anything but for Bilder and that’s something UFC featherweights should be worried about.
“It’s never a lyaoff for me. I’m constantly and continuously improving and getting better every day. It’s actually worse and worse for everybody else in our division because I’m getting that much better,” Bilder explained. “I do not take days off. I don’t relax. I don’t chill. I’m obsessed and this is all I think about.”
He credits this mentality as to why he’s still making such huge gains in the MMA world despite being at it for more than a decade. It’s not a hard mentality for him to keep – in fact it’s been in him from the very beginning.
“I’m an outlier, man. It’s always what I was meant to be. Since I was a kid, watching WWF -Shawn Michaels ‘The Heartbreak Kid’, Mick Foley, Hulk Hogan, ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage – guys that are larger than life,” he said. “They’re under the spotlight, long hair, in the cage, going for the belt, putting on a show, talking to the crowd. This is what I was destined and born to do.”
And he’ll finally get the opportunity to do all of those things at UFC 284 when he faces local Shane Young. While he knows the crowd will be behind Young (to start), he’s ready to put on a show for everyone there and at home.
“Just devestate. Get the popcorn, get your tickets ready, make sure you got your glasses wiped off clean becuase you’re not gonna want to blink this whole time,” Bilder declared.
His bout with Shane Young will take place on the preliminary card of UFC 284 this Saturday on ESPN+.
You can hear the entire audio of this interview below at 1:56.
