Despite another long layoff, Siyar Bahadurzada staying positive at UFC Fight Night 115

ROTTERDAM – It hasn’t been the easiest road in the UFC for Siyar Bahadurzada. He’s been with the promotion for five and a half years, and on Saturday he’ll fight for just the fifth time in that stretch.

But despite bumps along the way, and with a move back to middleweight at UFC Fight Night 115 against Rob Wilkinson (11-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC), Bahadurzada (22-6-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) believes it’s his positive outlook that will keep him going.

“There were some things I had to take care of, and that’s the reason I couldn’t fight,” Bahadurzada told MMAjunkie today at a media day in support of Saturday’s card. “Everything is taken care of – I’m fit, I’m hungry, I’m back, and I’m ready to perform.

“It’s easy to be positive when everything’s going well – everyone’s positive when things are going well. But if you can remain positive when things aren’t going well, I think that makes a difference. I’m that type of person who remains positive no matter what.”

UFC Fight Night 115 takes place Saturday at Ahoy Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The entire event streams on UFC Fight Pass.

Bahadurzada has gone since UFC 196 in March 2016 since he most recently fought. In that fight, he snapped a two-fight skid of decision losses to Dong Hyun Kim and John Howard when he submitted Brandon Thatch in Las Vegas.

The setbacks he had against Kim and Howard put to end a seven-fight winning streak, including a 42-second knockout of Paulo Thiago in his UFC debut. He referenced that win when saying that despite only four fights since April 2012, he can still be a factor.

“I’ve been in the UFC for five years, but because of injuries and and obstacles, I couldn’t perform,” he said. “But I’m not the 27-year-old boy who came to the UFC. I’m a grown-up man now. I’m experienced. I do things differently. I train differently. I diet differently. I’m a much better version of myself than when I just came to the UFC – who knocked out Paulo Thiago in 42 seconds.”

Bahadurzada said his bucket list includes fighting in a UFC main event. On Saturday, he fights Wilkinson in the co-feature. That’s a step in the right direction. And after that, maybe he’ll be able to be more active.

“It’s one of my goals, to be a main-(event fighter),” he said. “Co-main event is a good step toward that one, and I like to crush my goals.

“When I heard the UFC was coming to Holland, I had a long layoff and I wanted to perform. I wanted to fight, no matter what, in Holland. Middleweight was a good choice to come back after a layoff, and we’ll take it from there.”

And for more on UFC Fight Night 115, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.