Since joining Titan FC last year, veteran bantamweight champion Farkhad Sharipov has won back to back fights, including a victory that brought him his first major MMA championship.
Having previously focused on his boxing career, Sharipov’s back-to-back decision victories over Bruce Lutchmedial and Andrew Whitney last year have proven that there’s still a lot left in his MMA tank.
“(The win over Lutchmedial) was on three days’ notice,” Sharipov told MMAWeekly.com. “I came as the underdog. People didn’t expect I’d been training and trying to get into shape. I had just started training back in MMA. I won that fight and it put me in position to fight for the title.
“With Andrew I had a better training camp. I’ve been doing a lot of different sports and have grown as a complete athlete and MMA fighter. It played out pretty well. When I first came to Titan I said I would be champion. I said to people that you will see. And I kept my word.”
While he’s been successful transitioning back into MMA from boxing, Sharipov feels making the move from one sport to the other isn’t as simple as flipping a switch.
“I’ve been doing boxing a lot, and when you do that a lot you get used to different stance and think about hands, but MMA is a different sport,” said Sharipov. “When you focus on boxing, you forget how to wrestle, you forget how to shoot because you’re used to focusing just on punching out of a different stance.”
“In this sport (of MMA), I believe, the speed, timing and conditioning is the biggest thing. I have the tools that I need. I need only to sharpen up a few techniques, but with a different speed. Speed kills everything: when you’re fast and you see (things coming) and react.”
Sharipov (17-7) will look to defend his Titan championship for the first time when he takes on up and comer Jose “Shorty” Torres (4-0) in a 135-pound main event on Friday in Pembroke Pines, Fla.
“I’m not going to underestimate him, but I feel I’m the more well-rounded fighter,” Sharipov said of facing Torres. “They told me he was willing to stand up with me, and oh man, I wish he would stand up with me.
“He hasn’t faced somebody who has the movements like me, for sure. He’s a straight-forward guy. If he comes out like that, it’s going to be good night (time to sleep) for him.”
While Sharipov would like to be busier around multiple combat sports, commitments of a contract and a title to defend look to keep him focused on MMA for the time being.
“I still have a contract with Titan and I wouldn’t be able to compete as much,” said Sharipov. “I’d love to fight every month at least. I’m working on having a kickboxing match, and I’d love to fight for a boxing belt this year.”