Looking back on his win this past February over JP Saint Louis at LFA 82, welterweight Korey Kuppe was overall pleased with his performance, though he wasn’t able to showcase everything he wanted to in the fight.
In particular, Kuppe wanted to use his stand-up more in the fight, but he took an opportunity to finish Saint Louis on the ground in the second round and pick up the victory rather than push his luck by backing off.
“That was a good fight,” Kuppe told MMAWeekly.com. “(Saint Louis is) really strong. He’s a good grappler, comes from a good camp. I got to show a lot of my grappling. I planned on keeping that fight standing. Hopefully this (upcoming) time I can do a little more of that.”
Kuppe was hoping to keep his momentum going after the win in February when the novel coronavirus struck and put things into lockdown. Fortunately Kuppe was able to make the most of the situation, even though he experienced some difficult adjusting at first.
“The gym was closed the whole time, so me and my brother found that annoying,” said Kuppe. “We started training every day with a small group to get through it. After we started training the first week we felt a lot better.
“I think I’m way better and smarter than I was last year. I’m more experienced. I’m really finding my groove. I’ve had one loss since 2016, so my confidence is really high right now.”
On Tuesday in Las Vegas, Kuppe (9-3) will compete for a UFC contract when he takes on Michael Lombardo (10-2) in a main card 170-pound bout at Dana White’s Contender Series 2020: Week 6.
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“I think (Lombardo’s) a good athlete, but I think I’m a better martial artist and a gangster,” Kuppe said. “I think I just need to keep the fight standing, pick him apart on the feet, and if we do grapple I need to create a lot of grappling exchanges and do what I do and get the submission, and get him out of there.
“I think when I get in there I’m going to be zoned in and not notice (not having a crowd) too much. I also think I’m going to be a little better and be able to really just chill and find that flow state without all the people yelling at you.”
For Kuppe just making it to the UFC is not his goal for 2020, but rather to begin making an impact on the welterweight division starting with Tuesday night.
“My goal is not to get the contract and just be a UFC guy; my goal is to cut through the 170-pound division violently,” said Kuppe. “I’m just going to take care of this fight, be me, be spectacular, and everything else will take care of itself.”
Korey Kuppe plans to be spectacular at Dana White’s Contender Series