Why UFC on FOX 27's Mirsad Bektic 'very grateful' for crazy knockout loss to Darren Elkins

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – After ending up on the sore end of the wildest comeback of 2017, Mirsad Bektic took a little time to dwell on it.

“For the first 14 minutes of (the fight), it was pretty good,” Bektic told MMAjunkie on Wednesday. “And then the last minute of the fight, it just sucked. I re-lived that pretty hard after the fight, for a little bit. Questioning what happened, what I needed to work on, what I did right, what I didn’t do right. I re-lived it quite well.”

But then, by the time basically the entire internet was abuzz with Darren Elkins’ insane third-round knockout win – which also happened to mean Bektic’s first loss in professional MMA – Bektic was pretty much ready to move forward.

Although being away from the octagon for 10 months wasn’t Bektic’s ideal layoff, he made good use of it. He tried out a few places to train and then arrived at Montreal’s Tristar Gym. Now, extremely satisfied with the additions made by head coach Firas Zahabi to his game, Bektic can look back on the positives of his setback.

And they went beyond MMA’s classic “anything can happen” tagline.

“My overall takeaway was experience and not just experience in the cage, but experience outside of the cage,” Bektic said. “I probably wouldn’t have ended up at Tristar if that didn’t happen. I wouldn’t be thinking the way I am if that certain thing didn’t happen.

“So I’m very grateful for it. I took a lot away from it. So, yeah, to me, (I look at it more) like a sparring session. And now I’m going back in there and perform.”

Bektic’s loss, of course, wasn’t exactly the sign that something was way off. After all, he’d beaten all the opponents that came before Elkins, four of them after making it to the UFC. He was a 7-1 favorite entering the UFC 209 bout. And then, too, things were going well – until obviously, they weren’t.

Still, the 26-year old has taken some lessons from it. Under Zahabi, he’s learning different things in all areas of the MMA game. But, aside from technical skills, the featherweight is working toward a new approach of fighting in general.

“Just enjoying the process,” Bektic said. “Being objective and learning and continuing to get those reps out of what I’m going to use. Just enjoying it. Really, really enjoying it. Being relaxed.

“Having my friends and my family be involved in it and not being so non-objective and just having one day of doing things. Just being relaxed and having fun.”

Bektic (11-1 MMA, 4-1 UFC) returns tonight at UFC on FOX 27, where he meets fellow featherweight Godofredo Pepey (13-5 MMA, 5-5 UFC) in an FS1-televised preliminary card bout. The event takes place at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C.

Pepey is a big underdog heading into the bout – in fact, he’s the biggest one on the card. Other than Bektic’s own credentials, that status is probably a reflection of Pepey’s most recent record: two losses in three fights, including a one-sided beating by Shane Burgos.

Before that, however, “The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil” finalist had gone on a bit of a tear – with consecutive first-round finishes over Noad Lahat, Dashon Johnson and Andre Fili. And, judging by Bektic’s reaction to having Pepey’s name offered to him, it’s probably for that finisher that Bektic prepared for.

“With him, you have to be aware,” Bektic said. “You have to be awake. And, you know, once you’re stepping in there, what you expect to get. It’s a little different for me because this fight, it wakes me up. It excites me, because I know what he’s going to bring to the table. And I know what I’ve got to bring to the table to beat him.

“In past fights, I was very confident. I didn’t even watch the guys. (They) didn’t give me that feeling of, ‘Hey, man, you’re going to be in a fight and you have to earn it.’ I’m willing to go in there and earn it.”

To hear more from Bektic, check out the video above.

And for more on UFC on FOX 27, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.