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Marc-André Barriault can never blame his bosses for lacking diversity in the choice of his opponents.
L‘UFC confirmed last week that the 31-year-old from Gatineau will face Congolese Dalcha Lungiambula (11-2, 5 KOs) on August 14 in a Fight Night 194 gala. It will be his sixth fight in the powerful mixed martial arts organization since May 2019.
“I faced two Poles, a Korean, a Moroccan and an American,” lists Barriault (12-4, 9 KOs).
“Lungiambula, he trains in South Africa. I’ve seen him fight at 205 pounds, a higher weight class than mine. ”
Lungiambula, 35, made his middleweight debut in January, defeating Markus Perez by unanimous decision.
“It was not the best performance, but he still won,” notes Barriault, speaking of his opponent who is a former champion of judo and kickboxing.
“He’s a respectable fighter. He is in good physical shape. He’s explosive. But it will not be the first time that I face this type of opponent. Then if I am nicknamed Power Bar, it is because I have a good punch too. ”
Barriault won by technical knockout in March against Abu Azaitar (14-3-1, 7 KOs). He ended up exhausting his vis-à-vis whose cardiovascular endurance was not the best.
We could see him taking a similar approach against Dalcha Lungiambula.
“I’m not going over there to show that I’m the strongest physically (…) I know that the first round, he’s going to want to go there with big knockouts. I’ll keep my distance. “
“When you hit the void, it can get frustrating quickly. And you lose energy. I see myself as a bit of a matador for this first round. ”
Marc-André Barriault
The Outaouais athlete recalls that he is already used to facing fighters on great strides.
“Andrew Sanchez, he had fought three times more professional fights than me. Krzysztof Jotko, he was ranked 15th in the world. Then Abu, he was on a 12-game winning streak. ”
Marc-André Barriault has been in Florida for two weeks. Specifically in Deerfield Beach, located between Boca Raton and Pompano Beach.
Its preparation will take place at Sanford MMA where several of the members of the center turn out to be UFC fighters.
“I drove here for three days with my truck, my trailer, my dog and my girlfriend. The first two weeks here have been intense. But I still have two and a half months left before my fight. I will structure my training camp well. I’m not going to jump into big gym fights right away to show how tough and capable I am. I don’t want to burn myself mentally and physically. ”
Barriault will develop themes over time. “One week, focus on wrestling, the other on jiu-jitsu”, specifies the product of the Martial Arts club Patenaude.
“I also want to sharpen my fighting IQ and test it against other guys.”
Five fights have already been confirmed by the UFC for Fight Night 194, the location of the gala for which remains to be determined.
Derek Brunson and Darren Till will face each other in the middleweight category, while Quebecer Charles Jourdain will face featherweight Lerone Murphy.
