Las Vegas, NV — Having made the drop to light heavyweight, TUF 30 finalist Zac Pauga got the job done against Jordan Wright in Saturday’s UFC Vegas 69 co-main event.
Pauga (6-1) earned a one-sided unanimous decision victory, driving Wright into the cage and smashing him with elbows repeatedly.
Speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout, Pauga said that he had done what he needed to do, “but it’s just the next step. I’ve got big plans, and that was just the first step.”
At 34, Pauga is well aware that his window in the sport won’t be a long one. He doesn’t have 15 years to build a career. And so he wants to fight as often as possible. “I’ll fight, as many times as the UFC calls, I’ll pick up. I want fights, and I’m going to bloody guys and and keep rolling until they have no choice but to move me up in the rankings.”
With that in mind, he’s hoping to land a quick turnaround, and will be looking to compete again in the spring.
“I want to get right back in here. April 22, May 6, I’ve got friends on both those cards. My coaches are already going to be here. Find me an opponent,” said Pauga. “The first guy they offered me tonight was Anton Turkalj, and he turned it down. You’ve got one fight in the UFC, man, you can’t turn down fights. Let’s go. I don’t know when the last time he fought was. Let’s get both of us on one of those soon cards, late April, early May.”
As for his performance on Saturday, Pauga admits that he had to juggle some emotions, after suffering his first loss as a pro in The Ultimate Fighter 30 finale.
“It did feel different. It felt different for a lot of different reasons. You don’t go 0-2 in the UFC. So this was a must win for me, and Jordan Wright was a dangerous opponent. There were a lot of emotions. The last time I got touched in that octagon, I went to sleep. So there’s a lot of emotions going in there, and it felt good to squash them all.”
Luckily, everything went according to plan. A plan that Pauga anticipates using again and again as he works his way up the light heavyweight ladder. “That fight was exactly what we planned to do. Push them up against the wall— that’s what I’m going to do to everybody. That’s my plan. You don’t have to ask me anymore. I’m going to push every single light heavyweight up against the cage, and elbow their face off.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 69 post-fight media appearance by Zac Pauga above.
