'Don't..': UFC Fighter Julija Stoliarenko discloses a necessary insight about weight cut

This week in the UFC Fight Night, a mouth-watering action is set to take over. In the main event, Tom Aspinall will be up against Marcin Tybura. It is a stacked-up card and our focus is on the co-main event which is the Flyweight contest between Julija Stoliarenko and Molly McCann.

The newsmaker

Ahead of the UFC fight night, republicworld.com had an exclusive chat with Julija Stoliarenko, who is making her Flyweight debut in UFC. In the conversation, Julija expressed her delight on fighting in London and also talked about the precarious topic of weight cut. Moreover, she also paid heed to the challenge that Molly McCann is expected to bring.

Excerpts

Q. What are your thoughts on the fight against Molly McCann?

It is a tough fight for me. That's a very big fight and she is a big star here in London and basically, she has shown her best fighting here in London. I am excited about this fight because I have never fought in UFC in Europe. I think it was 2019 when the last time I stepped foot in a ring in Europe. And that's a big advantage for me as well because I won't be needing any acclimatization and It's way easier and London is also a city which is close to us because we have a huge community of Lithuanians here in London. Secondly, we have Roger Gracie Academy in London from where I got my black belt and so on. Even coming here I get to train in the academy and meet partners who I know very well. I used to train in London from time to time, so for me it's very familiar and I am feeling like fighting at home too.

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Q. You are known to be quite strong and have broken your opponent's arm in that ring in the past, so how are you targeting to explode on Molly McCann this Saturday?

I don't wanna tell anything, for me that fight is going to be challenging and something new for me because it's going to be my first fight in Flyweight (division), and I am excited to see what my body is capable to do in Flyweight. It's a risk but I want to take it, I want to see what I can do here and I can tell more after the fight.

In the training camp, I felt very good and my weight cut was going very well, I thought it would be way more harder and everything is in track, my body is feeling great and I am actually feeling way better right now as compared to when I was in Bantamweight. So, I am just aiming to have the best fight of my life. 

Q. You have had some tough weight cuts in the past, however, lately, you haven't had any problems meeting the set standard. So, how's the weight cut going for this fight?

The problem wasn't my weight cut mostly like I had fainted on the scale but during that faint I actually meet the standard. I never failed a weight cut, I always did my weight. When you are cutting weight you always have that period of being a little bit weak and on that day lot of things got together and not at the right moment, and everybody's like you cannot cut weight, even Bantamweight you cannot cut correctly, and I am like guys I had like 20 weight cuts in my career and I had that one trouble, it was basically a bad day for me but the biggest lesson I got was that you cannot cut weight too early. On that day when I fainted, I cut weight too early and I was dehydrated for five hours because my weight was going too fast. This was a big lesson for me, don't rush, don't make weight too soon. 

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Q. Out of the 10 victories in your career, 9 have come via submission and what's more ironic is that you have attained all the victories through armbar. So, is that a coincidence or you look to work your way to get into that position?

The funniest thing is I never train for an armbar, it just comes naturally for me. So, that tool is always in my pocket but I never pay enthire emphasis on that. When I am going to a fight it's never like I am going to go for an armbar. We have a game plan, we have a whole variety of tools, and I have much more than just an armbar but If it all happens like that, It will happen. 

Q. Where do you think the strength lies in your opponent's game and how are you planning to tackle it?

She has a very strong boxing background and that's a hard one to tackle and also she's also very aggressive and so for sure It's going to be tough. 

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Q. You have had an illustrious career, wherein you have accumulated so many accolades, but we know it's a cruel game and sometimes things don't go your way. So, what would you like to say about the outcomes of your fights in the last couple of years?

I just want to show the best of myself. I want to see how much I can do. How my skillset is going to show up to the people. I just want to express as much as I can and I carry that mindset in every fight. The fight is a fight, anything can happen and I have been in trouble but I am prepared for everything and I just turned 30 and I am the most mature in my life and as a fighter also. And I am ready to show the fighter that I always expected from myself. 

*Watch the LIVE coverage of UFC Fight Night - Aspinall vs Tybura on Sony Sports Ten 2 (English), Sony Sports Ten 3 (Hindi) and Sony Sports Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels at 12:30 AM IST on 23rd July 2023.