LAS VEGAS – Farid Basharat is looking for more than just a tough fight. He wants recognition.
Basharat (15-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC) has put together quite a run with six consecutive wins over several highly touted prospects – including Saturday’s decision over Jean Matsumoto (17-2 MMA, 3-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 266. Yet, despite the impressive run, he’s yet to crack the top 15 of the UFC bantamweight rankings. Basharat thinks to do so, he’ll have to get someone with history in the promotion, like Deiveson Figueiredo, even if he’s not in his best career moment.
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“What I like the most is that it’s got name value,” Basharat told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC Fight Night 266 post-fight press conference when asked about his callout of Figueiredo. “I’m 6-0 in the UFC, all very tough guys, but what I want is a marquee name in there. Not to take anything away from the six guys – I think I’ve fought six really, really tough guys. But unfortunately, they just didn’t have the same name value, otherwise I would be ranked. Otherwise, I’d be in the top 10.
“There’s guys out there that have two-fight winning streaks that are in the top 10, top 12 somehow, and not even two-fight winning streak – two wins in the UFC. I’ve got six, and hopefully I’m just getting ranked now. What I want is ‘Figgy’ because he’s towards the end of his career, he’s been a champion and he’s headlined some big fights. I really think I put a clinic on him.”
The official UFC rankings has been a point of frustration for Basharat. He’s hoping to crack the top 15 with this latest win, but he’s no longer going to stress over it. He’s just going to focus on what he can control.
“Definitely after the last one, I thought I would be ranked,” Basharat said. “If you look at the bantamweight rankings, 15, 14 and 13 are all coming off losses. Then you have someone here coming off five wins in the UFC, 15-0 – surely you think I would get a ranking. I used to get a little bit annoyed, but now I just control what I can control, put on the best performances I can.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Farid Basharat vows to ‘put a clinic on’ former UFC champ Figueiredo
