UFC Fight Night 34’s Quinn Mulhern had no problems missing the holidays

Most fighters competing over the holiday season complain about missing Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s. UFC lightweight Quinn Mulhern is quite the opposite.

Mulhern (18-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC), who meets Katsunori Kikuno (21-5-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 34 this Saturday in Singapore, actually was relieved to not deal with the expectations and pressures that come to the surface this time of year. He was just happy to focus 100 percent on his preparation.

“The holidays kind of bum me out a bit, but this one I got to just be super focused,” Mulhern told MMAjunkie Radio. “I got to diet, focus, and it felt good to be in that zone in this time of year when you’re usually not.”

The 29-year-old is hardly a Grinch-like figure when it comes to the holidays. But after losing his UFC debut to Rick Story earlier this year, he needed to do everything possible to ensure victory in his sophomore showing with the organization.

That’s why when others were stressing about what presents to buy for loved ones or what party they’ll be going to on the final night of the year, Mulhern was in the gym polishing his skills.

“There’s this expectation that you need to be happy and there’s this one day a year on Christmas where you’re supposed to be happy, and I think most people are usually kind of the opposite,” Mulhern said. “Its been nice to have some other priorities and kind of keep me sane.”

In a move that made the entire situation even more difficult, Mulhern opted to drop to the lightweight division for the first time for his fight with Kikuno, which streams live on the newly launched UFC Fight Pass.

So not only did the American embrace other parts of the holidays, he couldn’t enjoy the food, either.

While the timing of the drop doesn’t seem particularly great from an outsider’s perspective, Mulhern said the decision to switch weight classes has gone through his mind constantly over the years, and regardless of when his next fight was booked, now was the time to commit.

“I could have done it a long time ago – maybe I should have done it a long time ago,” Mulhern said of cutting to lightweight. “Now that I’m doing it, it feels like this is the right weight for me, the place where I’m very competitive with everyone in the gym, and I feel really strong – like this is the key for me.”

Missing out on holiday meals was a tough mental test for Mulhern, but one he was more than up for. As his career graduated to the next level in the UFC, he knew his professionalism had to, as well. That starts with his diet.

“I basically have to have a different life in relation to food,” Mulhern said. “I love food, so that part hasn’t been easy. If I’m really going to be serious about this and make this next step happen and make it count, then I’ve got to do this.”

Mulhern will enter the lightweight division at a towering 6-foot-3, while his opponent Kikuno is measured at just 5-7. With that in mind, it would seem Mulhern’s biggest advantage coming into the fight would be physical.

He sees it differently, though, and believes his previous experience fighting in Strikeforce and the UFC provides a mental edge his opponent will have trouble dealing with.

“The lights are a little brighter, the crowd is a little bigger and once that’s behind me I know what to expect,” Mulhern said. “Because I know what to expect I was able to do a lot of mental game planning, and a lot of work on the physiological part of the game.”

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

For more on UFC Fight Night 34, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.