UFC Fight Night 96's Zak Ottow: I'll find a way to exploit Josh Burkman's weakness

Newly minted UFC lightweight Zak Ottow had won a headlining fight this summer and figured that signing with a well-known MMA agency would help him sign a contract with the industry leader.

Ottow, who also fights at welterweight, was encouraged when several 170-pounder dropped out of scheduled bouts. But somehow, his phone didn’t ring.

“My fingers are crossed and I’m hoping for the call to come in and for it to be mine, but it just wasn’t,” Ottow (13-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC), who on Saturday meets Josh Burkman (28-13 MMA, 6-8 UFC) on the FS1-televised main card of UFC Fight Night 96 at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., told MMAjunkie Radio. “So I’ve already been through the process a little bit.”

Ottow went about his business, waiting for that life-changing call. He was cornering teammate Rick Glenn, who earlier this month made an impressive octagon debut at UFC Fight Night 94, when it came.

“We were on our way back from lunch, and my manager said, ‘Hey, would you be willing to fight in Portland for the UFC in two weeks?’” Ottow remembers. “Before I even knew who it was, I said, ‘Hell yes.’”

Then his manager texted him. “Oh by the way, it’s Burkman.”

“I said, ‘Yeah, that’s fine,’” Ottow told his rep. “Whoever. I’m ready. Let’s go.”

Ottow’s attitude is commendable considering the challenge ahead. Burkman, who was supposed to fight Bobby Green (23-7 MMA, 4-2 UFC), has double the experience he does and has fought at the sport’s highest levels for a decade. Although wins have eluded him in his second stint with the UFC, it’s impossible to discount the level of danger Burkman, a veteran of “The Ultimate Fighter 2,” poses to a fighter who doesn’t have the same pedigree.

Ottow has fought but one UFC veteran, Jacob Volkmann, and lost via submission. The Burkman matchup is one that could expose his vulnerabilities. But it could also prove he’s ready to be a contender in the lightweight division.

“Ever since I had my first amateur fight, my whole career has been getting me ready for this moment,” he said.

Assessing Burkman’s abilities on a scale of 1 to 10, Ottow doesn’t see any obvious areas where he might take home an easy victory.

“In this one, you find 9s and 10s, and maybe a few 8s,” he said. “So that window is going to be smaller, but it’s going to be there. I just have to find it and exploit it.”

Ottow and Burkman have each won 10 fights via submission, making the possibility of a grappling fight high for Saturday’s event. But Ottow reminds fans that more than half of his tapout wins have come when opponents were trying to recover from a punch.

It’s been a “dream come true” for Ottow to get here. Now he just needs to find Burkman’s chin to set up a choke.

For more on UFC Fight Night 96, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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