Walel Watson reinvents himself as featherweight, aims for UFC return

Following a sensational UFC debut, things didn’t go exactly as Walel Watson (11-5) planned. Now that he’s no longer cutting 35 pounds to make weight, Watson believes that may change.

“It’s physical, and then from the physical came the mental,” Watson told MMAjunkie.com. “I was cutting a lot of weight. The weight was killing me. That’s what messed me up mentally. I moved up to 145, and I was fast and super strong. I was able to get those finishes again.

“I just hit this last growth spurt when I hit 27, and I don’t walk around the same weight I used to walk at anymore. When you’re only 4 percent body fat, it’s really hard to be cutting 35, 40 pounds.”

That’s right. The 5-foot-11 Watson was cutting nearly 40 pounds to hit the bantamweight division’s 135-pound limit. After his October 2011 UFC win over Joseph Sandoval, Watson was downed in succession by Mitch Gagnon, T.J. Dillashaw and Yves Jabouin, and “The Gazelle” was released from the promotion.

“Luckily, I don’t get broken really easily,” Watson said. “Things happen in life, but it’s a career. You’re going to have your ups, you’re going to have your downs. Unfortunately, those were my down moments right there, and they had to be in front of the world. But I’m strong-minded, and I just jumped right back in, and I’m ready to go.”

Watson made the decision to move to 145 pounds, and he’s already racked up two first-round wins competing as a featherweight. The average time of each fight was just under 50 seconds.

Watson returns to action on Saturday, where he fights Finnish competitor Tom Niinimaki in his home country. The contest serves as the main event of the simply-named Cage 23 event.

“I’m super excited,” Watson said. “Tom Niinimaki is the kind of opponent I want to test myself against at this weightclass before I get back in the UFC. He’s a guy that’s been running through his division. He’s got a 10-fight winning streak. Nothing but respect for him. He’s the champion of this show, and this is how I’m going to test myself and find out if I really belong at the next level – and I know I do. I’m going to go in there and show him what the next level is.”

And that, Watson says, is the ultimate goal. The 29-year-old Californian said he never let himself get down following his UFC release. Instead, it’s 12 hours in the gym every day, where he’s constantly either training or teaching others in his role as jiu-jitsu instructor. But it’s always about martial arts, and it’s always about getting back to the UFC.

This time it will just be in a new division.

“The goals never change,” Watson said. “I still want to be No. 1 in the world. That never went away.

“I know I’ll be back in the UFC after I get this ‘W.’ If it’s not enough, then I’ll do what I have to do. If they tell me I need three more wins, I’ll do it. Whatever it takes to get in. My goal is to be No. 1, and I’m not going to let anything break that up.”