Vik Grujic will make his long awaited return to MMA when he takes on Kiwi legend Luke Jumeau this Saturday night at the inaugural Legends MMA on the Gold Coast.
Grujic who was last seen fighting in the UFC in 2015 is set to make a another run to the top of the Aussie welterweight division and says he’s never felt better, physically and mentally.
“The training camp is going extremely well. I’m training my butt off, I’m in good health and the weight is coming off.
“Mentally I’ve never been in a better place. I’ve finally got a great team around me that helps me channel my positive energy and make me feel good about myself. I’ve never had that before. I’m working all the time on bettering myself and I know it’s working because I see the results in the gym.”
They say a happy fighter is a dangerous fighter; couple that with Aussie’s desire to fight again after having several bouts fall through last year and you have a molotov cocktail ready to explode inside the cage.
“After my last fight in the UFC I had nose surgery and was out for the rest of the year. Then last year I was looking for fights. At first I didn’t want to fight in Australia, I wanted to keep my interests overseas, but it wasn’t meant to be. Then I lined up four fights for the second half of last year but they fell over. Thankfully this one is going through.”
‘The Spartan’s’ opponent Jumeau is on a rampaging five fight win streak all of which have been finished inside the distance and only one that didn’t end inside the first round.
The Kiwi fighter is a big name on the New Zealand MMA circuit and is widely regarded as the country’s number one welterweight, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by Grujic.
“Luke is a very tough opponent. I had other opponents offered to me for this card, lesser opponents, but I didn’t want a tune up fight, that wasn’t going to do me or my career any good. I want to test myself against a good opponent and get some attention for myself and the show. When Luke’s name came up I was instantly interested. He’s a tough kid.”
As for what’s next? For now Grujic is focusing on January 28 but the next step is never far from his mind. Another run at the UFC is not out of the question. As the world’s number one promotion Grujic acknowledges that that is an opportunity he would definitely like to have again however other opportunities such as fighting in Japan for Rizin is currently on his radar.
“I didn’t really have a great run in the UFC. Not having a coach and not having a team made it really hard. I was virtually training myself for my last fight. If the UFC were to put a contract in front of me, with good conditions, of course I’d take it. They are the best paying, commercial, mainstream, promoter. It’s great for any fighters career. There’s a lot of opportunities overseas right now. Rizin in Japan is a dream for me. Having said that, Luke is my priority right now and after that whatever happens, happens.”
https://www.fightnewsaustralia.com/legend-mma-1-live-stream/
