The UFC is taking a weekend off, which means some of the smaller regional shows (plus a certain boxing/MMA crossover showdown) get the chance to hog the spotlight. Among the regional action on tap, LFA 170 takes place on Friday night in Colorado, and includes welterweight prospect Haris Talundzic in the main event.
Talundzic (6-1) sees a win this Friday as his ticket to bigger and better things.
“I think regardless of how I win, if I win this fight I think there’s no doubt that I should be fighting for the title,” Talundzic told The Top Turtle MMA Podcast on Cageside Press recently. “This will be I think my seventh or eighth professional win for the LFA. And there’s no doubt I should be fighting for the title next. If not, a short-notice fight in the UFC. That’s what I’m fighting for anyways. And so if I can jump having to fight for that belt and go straight to the UFC I would do that in a heartbeat.”
“I’m in this sport for legacy, I’m in this sport for quote-unquote immortality, and I truly think to achieve that in this sport you have to get that belt in the UFC. I think everything else is for the bees, the birds and the bees and I don’t want anything to do with anything other than that UFC or that ONE Championship belt. If God’s plan is for me to skip that LFA belt I’m 100% okay with belt.”
Of course, if Haris Talundzic does wind up fighting for the LFA title, he’s just fine with that as well. All but one of his professional fights have been with the company.
“I’ve got a spot on my bookcase if it does happen, but if not we can easily replace that with UFC belts. That’s what I’m in this for.”
Noting that LFA is the “premiere” regional promotion out there — “I think all the other regional scenes fall in comparison,” he noted — Talundzic added that “the LFA is the UFC.”
“Every fight I’m fighting, these guys are getting better and better. I spar with UFC guys all the time, and I beat these guys all the time. I can tell you right now these guys I’m fighting in LFA, they’re just as ready as any of these other guys in the UFC. I have formidable opponents, and again I think if I beat another formidable one, I’m right there. I should be in there too.”
On Friday, that formidable opponent will be Daniel Frunza, who has had a thing or two to say about the match-up online.
“I’m going to show up confident, I’m going to show up driven, I’m going to show up ready to go and give it 100%. Whatever the outcome may be I’ll accept it,” stated Talundzic. “I do believe I’m going to go out there and dismantle this guy. I’ve seen a couple posts about me being easy work, or this and that. I respect confidence, and I respect arrogance because those are moneymakers, but when you’re delusional I just can’t respect that. I think that’s harmful to our society. So I think I’ve got to go out there and show this guy what easy money actually looks like. Can’t respect delusional-ism, man.”
Watch our full interview with LFA 170 headliner Haris Talundzic above. The event takes place Friday, October 27, 2023 with the main card airing live on UFC Fight Pass.
