LAS VEGAS – Abdul Razak Alhassan has a lot of weight on his shoulders heading into UFC on ESPN 22.
Looking to snap a two-fight losing skid, Alhassan (10-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) faces Jacob Malkoun (4-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at Saturday’s event at the UFC Apex, which airs on ESPN following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
Alhassan made an instant impact upon signing with the UFC, winning four of his first five in emphatic fashion. All 10 of his pro wins have come by knockout, and he was on the cusp of entering the rankings after knocking Niko Price out in less than a minute at UFC 228 in September 2018. But things would go downhill for Alhassan following a near-two-year layoff from competition when he was upset by newcomer Mounir Lazzez, followed by a knockout loss to Khaos Williams.
He also missed weight in those two losses, which prompted him to move up a weight class to the middlweight division. Looking for a fresh start, Alhassan wants to not just remind everybody of his promise, but also remind himself.
“I think everybody has doubted me especially with the last two fights,” Alhassan told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at Wednesday’s media session at the UFC Apex. “Even the people that believed in me, I feel like they don’t believe in me as much anymore because of what I went through. But it’s not just to prove to them, but prove to myself that I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere.
“Also, it’s hard for someone to come from winning a lot, and all of a sudden two straight losses like that. It hurts, so right now it makes me feel way more angry. I need some wins. I need it really bad for myself, for my family, for my soul.”
Alhassan will enter Saturday as a sizable favorite over Malkoun, who was stopped in just 18 seconds by Phil Hawes in his promotional debut at UFC 254. But Alhassan knows it would be risky to judge Malkoun off of his past fight and isn’t taking him lightly.
“I never underestimate him; it’s a fight,” Alhassan said. “Especially a lot of people saw his last fight, and that’s what they know about him. Just like my last fight, you get caught and things happen. So if anyone is looking down on him, I’m not looking down on him at all. I know he’s a good fighter, he’s an all-around fighter, and I know he has a good training partner, too: (Robert) Whittaker. Whittaker is a good fighter, so he has to be a good fighter to have a good training partner like that.”
UFC on ESPN 22’s Abdul Razak Alhassan out to prove to himself that he belongs in the UFC