After a five-fight professional career, which took place entirely within the FAC promotion, Isaac Dulgarian got the call to make his UFC debut. In his fight with Francis Marshall, he did just what he had done in all five of his previous fights – he finished in the first round. Even with the lights and glamour of it all, it took a little bit for the whole thing to finally sink in for Dulgarian.
“It definitely set in the first couple weeks that I was back at home, just going about my normal life,” he said. “Having a UFC debut like that is rare and just such a blessing to be able to perform like that and come out of the fight with no injuries.”
Despite the fact that it took a bit to settle in, Dulgarian says that he expected this kind of outcome. And he expects to bring that same energy moving forward.
“Yeah, man. That’s just my style. I’m able to cause a lot of damage in a short period of time,” Dulgarian said. “The only way to get out of that is to not fight and just defend yourself. I expected it 100%. It felt higher stakes, but other than that, the fight felt the same.”
Obviously one of the stakes that comes with a UFC debut that spectacular is the possibility of a 50k bonus. Dulgarian had it on his mind after disposing of Francis Marshall, but unfortunately was passed up due to some other big finishes on the card.
He didn’t take the news real well, but looks forward to righting that wrong this weekend at UFC Vegas 88.
“I was pretty upset about it to be honest and I don’t know what more I could have done,” he said. “Hopefully we get one this fight – that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
You can catch his fight with Christian Rodriguez at UFC Vegas 88 this Saturday. The fight card begins at 4pm EST on ESPN+.
You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 2:14.
