WASHINGTON – Aiemann Zahabi quietly made his way to potentially the biggest event in UFC history.
Zahabi (14-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) takes on former bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley (19-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) on Sunday at UFC Freedom 250 (Paramount+) from the White House.
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Zahabi will enter on a seven-fight winning streak with back-to-back wins over former UFC champion Jose Aldo and former title challenger Marlon Vera. However, Zahabi admits that to the casual fan, he remains an unknown contender, just like Clubber Lang was before he made his way to Rocky Balboa.
“I feel like it’s part of it all. It’s partly about getting my name out there,” Zahabi said during Wednesday’s UFC Freedom 250 media day. “I won my seven fights kind of quiet in the background. I didn’t get much media attention. I’ve been telling everybody I felt like Clubber Lang, doing my work in the background, winning my fights, and nobody knows about me and, ‘Boom!’ All of a sudden I’m here, I’m at the White House, and everyone’s like, ‘Who is this guy? What is he doing here?'”
O’Malley has 12 knockout wins to his name, but Zahabi explained why he doesn’t view him as dangerous as his previous opponents.
“A different type of striking problem,” Zahabi said. “I feel like Aldo was the boogeyman. He’s the fastest striker I’ve ever faced. His speed is incredible, and he throws with everything he has. He has an immense amount of power in his strikes. ‘Chito’ has crazy power also. He has the most knockdowns in bantamweight UFC history.
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“Sean, I don’t think his power is based on like one-shot kill power, where he walks up to you and hits you on the head like Aldo and ‘Chito.’ He has more like timing and counter striking. If you fall into a gap, and he hits you and you don’t expect it, he’ll put you down, and he’ll put you out. He’s fast, but I don’t think he’s as fast as Aldo. He doesn’t have the blinding speed, but he has good footwork.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Meet the ‘Clubber Lang’ of UFC Freedom 250
