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Claudio Puelles Knows This Is Where He Belongs
Claudio Puelles Steps Into His Lightweight Bout Against Dan Hooker On A Five-Fight Win Streak And Ready To Shine Under The Bright Lights Of Madison Square Garden
From an early age, Claudio Puelles was schooled in the ways of the world by his grandfather, who wanted the Peruvian youngster and his cousin to be able to take care of themselves when the time came for them to be men.
That meant plenty of tough love, like the time Puelles went to the corner after the first round of his first amateur boxing match at the age of 15. There were only around 20 people in the room for the fight, and in the first round, the teenager was rightfully a little nervous.
“I came out a little hesitant and I wasn't throwing much, and the kid started throwing a lot and he was landing,” Puelles recalled. “After the first round, I was in the corner. My grandfather came to the corner and he wanted to say something.
“You're not gonna make me watch you lose, right?” said grandpa. “Let's go.”
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Puelles laughs at the memory.
“I got motivated, and I won the next two rounds and the fight.”
A little over a decade later, Puelles’ grandfather has passed, but he’s still in the heart and mind of a young man about to get into the most important fight of his professional MMA career Saturday night in Madison Square Garden.
“For obvious reasons, this is the biggest fight in my career,” said the 26-year-old Puelles. “It's a huge card, I'm getting this really good opportunity to be on a main card, and I'm very happy, but I'm putting in so much work that everything I get, I feel is deserved. I moved my life to the United States, and I worked so hard every day that I feel that I've got to fight the best, and this is a good chance to start, fighting a guy that's ranked and that has so many wars in the UFC. Everybody knows him, so it's a great name for me and a great fight.”
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That ranked guy is New Zealand veteran Dan Hooker, and he’s a clear step-up for Puelles, but just because it’s a step-up, that doesn’t mean that the Lima native is intimidated. Quite the contrary, as his work with the Kill Cliff FC team in South Florida and a five-fight win streak have him more confident than ever that this is where he belongs – in MSG on a pay-per-view main card fighting one of the best lightweights in the world.
“I don't care where it is, but if they give me something nice like this, of course it's better,” he laughs. “They gave me the UFC APEX for my last three fights, and I was happy I got good fights, I won my fights, and it's awesome. But it's an extra factor if they give you a fight in MSG on a huge pay-per-view card, so why not?”
Happy, grateful, but unrattled. I ask Puelles if he’s always been this serious.
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“You think I'm serious?” he laughs. “Man, it's all business. I dreamed of being a UFC fighter since I remember. You know how people start asking you what you want to be when you grow up when you were a kid? As long as they've been telling me this, I would always say I want to be a UFC fighter. I'd say I'm going to be a UFC fighter and people would laugh at me. But I did believe I could make it. I can do this; it's not impossible. I think people in Peru didn't believe it because we didn't have a big fighting culture in sports. And maybe because of that, they don't believe, but I think we're getting good representatives now, so sooner or later, they're gonna start believing.”
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If they don’t believe now, they’re way behind, as Puelles has been unbeaten since his lone loss in the UFC to Martin Bravo in 2016’s TUF Latin America 3 finale. That’s a long time to be this good, and with the “Prince of Peru” pulling out kneebar finishes of Chris Greutzemacher and Clay Guida in his last two bouts, he’s not slowing down in the slightest. So what’s the secret?
Claudio Puelles Fight Week Interview | UFC 281: Adesanya vs Pereira
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Claudio Puelles Fight Week Interview | UFC 281: Adesanya vs Pereira
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“It's not like I fought three times per year in those six years, but I've managed to get five wins straight in the UFC, which is still pretty big; it's not easy to do,” he said. “I think it's just taking it fight-by-fight. I never put that on my shoulders, I never go into fight week being like, 'Oh my God, I've gotta keep my record clean, I gotta stay undefeated.' None of these things ever matter to me. When I lost my undefeated record for the first time, I was 5-0. I was 17 and they gave me a very experienced guy. He had over 20 pro fights and he was coming off eight straight wins against tough guys and he was double my age. But I never hesitated to take it, I never was scared, and it was not about being 20-0 and undefeated. It was about winning every fight. Yeah, I lost one fight, but then I went on to win a lot more. I think what helps me is taking it fight-by-fight, and I don't put on my shoulders the weight of, ‘Oh, I have to keep my record clean.’ I focus on that specific fight. That way you don't go crazy overthinking something you probably can't control very much.”
Okay, maybe serious isn’t the right word, but mature is. And that, he attributes to his grandfather’s teachings.
“That helped me get a head start over a lot of people my age and I think that made the difference for me.”
UFC 281: Adesanya vs Pereira took place live from Madison Square Garden in New York City on November 12, 2022. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards, and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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