How Mansur Abdul-Malik chose to react, respond to get upper hand after UFC Seattle adversity
SEATTLE – Mansur Abdul-Malik beat Nick Klein with a second-round TKO Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 252 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
Take a look inside the fight with Abdul-Malik, who was the biggest favorite on the card at a massive number of more than 12-2 against the short-notice replacement for Antonio Trocoli.
Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Nick Klein
Result: Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Nick Klein via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:24
Updated records: Abdul-Malik (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), Klein (6-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC)
Key stats: Abdul-Malik had to go out of the first round for just the second time; the first time was on DWCS this past August.
Abdul-Malik on the fight's key moment
'I definitely wasn't hurt (from the first-round knockdown), but I got knocked off-balance, got knocked off my game, whatever it was. But in that moment, it was a moment of adversity. I had to get myself to where I needed to be, focused on the next round, and got it done.'
Abdul-Malik on his 100 percent finish rate
'It absolutely feels good, but then in my mind you have to look at the quality of the finishes. I've had better finishes than that, and I look at inside, what happened leading up to the finish? What were the techniques used? What was the defense? What were the things that I did well? What did I not do well? then the finish comes. So I don't really focus on the finish. I focus on everything in between that. But I'm grateful for another finish. Job well done, Mansur.'
Abdul-Malik on what he wants next
'I want to make sure I get better first, and then I want to return. For me, that's not necessarily a lot of time. I get better bi-weekly. I'm a completely different person every two weeks. Every three weeks, I adopt a new personality. So (my time off) could be very, very, very short. I just want to make sure I do things correctly – heal my body and get ready for another weight descent.'
To hear more from Abdul-Malik, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie's event hub for UFC Fight Night 252.
Gallery Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Nick Klein at UFC Seattle: Best photos
View 21 photos
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
UFC fans share what they think about Trump ahead of O'Malley-Dvalishvili showdown
UFC fans gathered in Newark, N.J., for the highly anticipated matchup between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley. But the two fighters weren't the only special guests in the arena — President Donald Trump was also in attendance. Though there was no official announcement, fans were clearly anticipating Trump's arrival. Fox News Digital spoke to fans before the event about Trump's performance during the first six months of his second term. Some were eager to praise the president, while others were skeptical or outright disappointed. Trump Confirms Ufc 314 Attendance, Reveals His Pick For The Biggest Winner "He's doing an amazing job. He's shocking us all, but he's doing what everybody knows he's going to do. Wow," Erin Kerr said. "I believe that Trump is somebody to respect. He's always honest about things and at the end of the day, you know, it might be politics, but you know we should kind of respect what's going on, you know what I'm saying," Eric Ventura told Fox News Digital. Read On The Fox News App "I'd much rather see the UFC than see two bloated billionaires fight each other," Paul Gordon said. "Probably Elon would be kind of funny, but I gotta go with what's happening tonight, it's gonna be better," Chris Wright said. Donald Trump Arrives At Ufc 309 In Msg; Crowd Roars For President-elect Weeks After Historic Rally "Trump — he's got that big a-- chin," Wright told Fox News Digital. "He took a bullet, right? I think if you just take a bullet, maybe you can take a punch," Gustavo Granados said. "If Elon, if Trump were to fight, I think Trump would get it done," Jimmy Malloy said. Several fans also chose Musk, noting the billionaire was several years younger than the president, which they thought would give him an advantage. In the end, Trump received a warm welcome from the roaring crowd as he entered the Prudential Center with UFC CEO Dana White, a longtime ally of the president who spoke at the 2024 Republican National article source: UFC fans share what they think about Trump ahead of O'Malley-Dvalishvili showdown
Fox News
3 hours ago
- Fox News
UFC fans share what they think about Trump ahead of O'Malley-Dvalishvili showdown
UFC fans gathered in Newark, N.J., for the highly anticipated matchup between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O'Malley. But the two fighters weren't the only special guests in the arena — President Donald Trump was also in attendance. Though there was no official announcement, fans were clearly anticipating Trump's arrival. Fox News Digital spoke to fans before the event about Trump's performance during the first six months of his second term. Some were eager to praise the president, while others were skeptical or outright disappointed. "He's doing an amazing job. He's shocking us all, but he's doing what everybody knows he's going to do. Wow," Erin Kerr said. "I believe that Trump is somebody to respect. He's always honest about things and at the end of the day, you know, it might be politics, but you know we should kind of respect what's going on, you know what I'm saying," Eric Ventura told Fox News Digital. "I'd much rather see the UFC than see two bloated billionaires fight each other," Paul Gordon said. "Probably Elon would be kind of funny, but I gotta go with what's happening tonight, it's gonna be better," Chris Wright said. "Trump — he's got that big a-- chin," Wright told Fox News Digital. "He took a bullet, right? I think if you just take a bullet, maybe you can take a punch," Gustavo Granados said. "If Elon, if Trump were to fight, I think Trump would get it done," Jimmy Malloy said. Several fans also chose Musk, noting the billionaire was several years younger than the president, which they thought would give him an advantage. In the end, Trump received a warm welcome from the roaring crowd as he entered the Prudential Center with UFC CEO Dana White, a longtime ally of the president who spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Dana White says Merab Dvalishvili already in bantamweight GOAT convo after UFC 316
Dana White says Merab Dvalishvili already in bantamweight GOAT convo after UFC 316 Show Caption Hide Caption UFC 316: Dana White post-fight interview UFC CEO Dana White spoke to MMA Junkie and reporters at the UFC 316 post-fight press conference and talked the top storylines from Saturday's event. NEWARK, N.J. – If Merab Dvalishvili isn't already the greatest 135-pounder in UFC history, he very soon could be. That's what Dana White thinks after he watched Dvalishvili (20-4 MMA, 13-2 UFC) thoroughly dominate former champion Sean O'Malley (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) to win their bantamweight title rematch Saturday in the UFC 316 main event. Dvalishvili dominated O'Malley in their first meeting in 2024, too, but toyed with him, in part, and won a decision to take the belt. The rematch looked like a mismatch when Dvalishvili took O'Malley down with ease on repeat and eventually tapped him out in the third round. "I agree (he looks like one of the best bantamweights of all time)," UFC CEO White said at a post-fight news conference at Prudential Center. "We've been talking about (what it will take to beat him). I don't know. "And Sean O'Malley came in 100 percent ready, mentally, physically, in every way you could be ready for this fight, and Merab finished him. He's definitely there (in the conversation as the best bantamweight of all time)." As for what could be next for Dvalishvili, White said he appreciates the fighter's enthusiastic quest to have four title defenses in one calendar years. Dvalishvili, after winning the title at UFC 306 this past September, outworked Umar Nurmagomedov in his first defense in January. Cory Sandhagen, White said, is next in line for a shot at the belt, but also thinks the champ might wind up in another rematch eventually. "He will keep racking (wins) up, I'm sure," White said. "The Umar rematch is interesting and it makes your legacy even better to run through everybody twice."
