Hakeem Dawodu sees UFC 279 as start to a future UFC title run: “I feel like my time is now”

Hakeem Dawodu’s recent win over TUF 27 winner Michael Trizano has sparked a fire for UFC 279.

A winner of six of his last seven bouts in the UFC, Dawodu (13-2-1 MMA, 6-2 UFC) meets Julian Erosa (27-9 MMA, 5-5 UFC) in Saturday’s UFC 279 featured prelim at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Dawodu won’t underestimate Erosa, but expects to be a problem for him no matter where the fight goes.

“One thing I noticed is he’s tall – he’s 6-(foot)-1,” Dawodu told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at Wednesday’s UFC 279 media day. “(The) second thing I noticed, he seems to have decent cardio. And the third thing I noticed is he seems to like to scrap. But as well, I look at his weaknesses. I saw that he got knocked out by Julio Arce, which I felt like I had no problems with him. I see that he’s a little bit sloppy. He has holes in his game. He likes to get hit.

“I think that’s just a bad recipe for me. I’m the least-hit featherweight of all time, and I’m a very high-level striker, former world champion in muay Thai, very high wrestling defense, my grappling is always getting better. So I see myself finishing this fight in a number of different ways. But just because I’ve beaten guys that have beaten him and he’s had his setbacks, I’m not taking this fight lightly.”

With a win over Erosa, Dawodu plans on setting his eyes back on the upper echelon of the division.

“After this fight, I’ve got some big names that I want to call out and get myself back in the rankings system and start making my title run,” Dawodu said. “I feel like my time is now.”

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