Looking for first UFC win, Kazula Vargas out to capitalize on UFC PI training camp at UFC 261

Kazula Vargas mixed things up in the preparation for his third UFC fight.

The UFC lightweight didn’t have his usual training camp ahead of his bout against newcomer Rong Zhu at UFC 261, which takes place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.

Vargas (11-4 MMA, 0-2 UFC) trained for his fight against Zhu (17-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at the UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. Vargas wanted to take advantage of of the resources available to him in Las Vegas, but also wanted to avoid the limitations that his home country has had due to COVID-19 restrictions.

“I’ve been using the resources that the UFC has – the therapy, the strength and conditioning, the nutrition and all that,” Vargas told MMA Junkie in Spanish. “So that was part of the strategy in coming here. When I got here, Mexico was closed, so I took advantage of that. I thought, ‘Why would I go back to Mexico? Everything is closed. I’m just going to stay here and train.’

“It was also about adapting and seeing what I can improve on, so that’s why I came here. It was a very good choice. All my camp, nutrition and therapy – I did it all here. Regardless if I have an injury or not, the action of getting massages, stretches and all that – it’s good for you. Everything was great.”

Vargas came to Las Vegas in mid-January and hasn’t left since. The Mexican fighter trained at the UFC PI along with some old friends he had in Las Vegas, and even with former UFC campion and now coach Khabib Nurmagomedov and his team.

The 35-year-old thinks training at the UFC PI has been important for his career and is glad to have made the decision to train in Las Vegas. Vargas thinks it’s much harder to come across the same resources in Mexico.

“It’s a great edge using the resources of the PI,” Vargas said. “The therapy here is very expensive and we can use that here, and they have the best team for physical therapy and strength and conditioning, along with the best technology and the tools. The nutrition team also did many studies on me to get my diet and supplementation right.

“So the thing is always to be more professional and professionalize this (career) more, especially me as a Latino. I need to reach the top level of my potential. In many countries in Latin America, it’s different. We need to work harder because in our countries we don’t have this support and we need to work harder than other fighters. So that’s why I made this move for this camp. I invested a lot and I need to capitalize on it.

“I feel great. I’m focused. Technically, I’m not a rookie. I have a black belt in kickboxing (and) a black belt in luta livre, which is a grappling system. So I’m way more complete than before.”

Vargas joined the UFC in 2019 and remains winless inside the promotion. He’s competed twice under the octagon lights. He lost a decision in his debut against Alex da Silva and then got disqualified for landing an illegal knee on Brok Weaver in early 2020.

Despite having back-to-back defeats, Vargas feels no pressure entering UFC 261. He feels prepared and doesn’t see his DQ loss to Weaver as a true defeat.

“The pressure of winning is always going to exist, but the defeat is not really there from last fight because I didn’t lose,” Vargas said. “I defeated myself. It’s not the same thing to say, ‘No, they beat me.’ This was a mistake from my part and we see it’s happening a lot.

“It’s not something you want to do, but it’s something that’s been happening and there’s a reason. I think that rule needs to be looked at. At the end of the day, we’re human and we make mistakes. I don’t think anyone goes in there wanting to do that and lose the fight and money. The person who’s more affected is the fighter that’s winning and dominating the fight.”