By Kevin Estrada
Fairtex’s Mark Abelardo hopes to get back on the winning track against Emilio Urrutia in a bantamweight battle on March 5 in ONE: FISTS OF FURY II at Singapore Indoor Stadium
The Pinoy-Kiwi fighter promises to put on a show for the fans, as always, and put Urrutia through the paces.
Talking to ONE in a pre-fight interview, Abelardo said, “I feel like Emilio is a dangerous fighter. He’s a high-level jiu-jitsu brown belt. He’s got heavy hands, and some good wins against good opponents. But I feel like his style is something I can match. He likes to brawl. I like to brawl, too. So I’m looking to put on a show, and hopefully the fans will enjoy it,”
“My striking will be a lot better than his. I’ve been working a lot more on my striking in this camp. I want to be the one pushing the pace. I want to be controlling where the fight goes, and just look to break him down.”
Despite a respectable 19-8 MMA record, the man nicknamed “Tyson” admitted to his shortfalls that caused his recent slide. He lost three of his last four, including a winless 2020 where he suffered his first career submission loss to Fabricio Andrade at No Surrender in Bangkok, the first event that ONE held since the pandemic.
He confessed, “In my last fights, I wasn’t there a hundred percent. I wasn’t physically in the best condition that I can be.”
With tweaks being made, Abelardo is ready against the American which would probably be his make-or-break bout.
“This time, I’ve made some adjustments, trained a lot harder, and I’ve had more time to prepare. Preparation is key coming into this fight. I definitely feel ready. I’ve just been working a lot these past six weeks, getting my conditioning as good as I can.”
“I’ve been doing a lot of roadwork, a lot of hard rounds with the top guys in the gym. They’ve just been pushing me to my breaking point and it’s something I’m going to bring into this fight. It’s going to take a lot to stop me,” Abelardo added.
Follow the writer on Twitter: @kevinlestrada
