New York City — Peru’s James Llontop is both “very happy” and “very honored” to represent his home country at UFC 309 in New York City, especially given the Peruvian population in the Big Apple.
“A lot of Peruvians here in New York. A lot of people hitting me up, asking for tickets and it’s crazy what happens here in New York,” Llontop (14-4) observed during Wednesday’s media day, speaking via translator to media outlets including Cageside Press.
A 2023 Contender Series vet, Llontop is looking for his first win in the promotion, after dropping his first two fights. The 25-year old’s last outing was a close split decision loss against “Slava Claus,” Viacheslav Borshchev. He knows he has his work cut out for him against Mauricio Ruffy this Saturday, especially stepping in on short notice.
“He’s a tough fighter, somebody who’s got great results, but I’m coming with a different mentality, different kind of energy, different preparation for this fight,” Llontop said of his opponent. “And he’s going to find out that we have a lot of great warriors in Peru.”
When it came to answering the call to step up against Ruffy, Llontop was already in the gym. “We’re always working, we’re always preparing”,” he stated. “When we got the call, this was a call that we can’t deny, we cannot say ‘no’ to an opportunity like this. And here we are, ready for this fight on Saturday.”
Of course, 0-2 is not where any new UFC fighter wants to be. Still, Llontop is taking something from both of those losses.
“A fighter does not lose, a fighter learns. I think that fighting in the UFC is different,” Llontop said when asked about his losses, noting that fighting has a different feel from playing a team sport like soccer. “And I think that because of the preparation that we had specifically for this fight, I think I’m coming in with something different. Because of the hype for this fight, because of what happened, I think I’m going to have my hand raised on Saturday.”
Watch the full UFC 309 media day appearance by James Llontop above.
