Makdessi waiting to leave his mark
UFC 186: Halifax fighter one of mixed martial arts’ best-kept secrets, but maybe not for much longer
John Makdessi is tired of living in the shadows of the UFC’s most distinguished division, but a new-found spark for his craft has him taking all the necessary steps to make sure people remember his name both inside and outside the Octagon.
The 29-year-old Halifax native has been a member of the promotion’s lightweight ranks since December 2010 and while he’s compiled a strong 5-3 record during his time in the UFC, Makdessi is still one of the division’s best-kept secrets having appeared exclusively on pay-perview cards, thanks, in large part, to his high-octane fighting style.
When he faces newcomer Shane Campbell in place of the injured Abel Trujillo at UFC 186 on April 25, the fight will mark Makdessi’s fourth appearance on a UFC card in Montreal — something the Tristar Gym member is certainly happy to be part of.
“It’s my pleasure to go out there and give the fans an exciting fight,” says Makdessi. “The Bell Centre has crazy energy. Every time I fought in that arena, I felt great energy. The fans are behind the event. They truly love the sport.”
After back-to-back victories over two reputable lightweights in Sam Stout and Daron Cruickshank, Makdessi was expected to face 155-pound Brazilian star Edson Barboza at UFC 162 before he was forced to pull out of the fight with an injury and thus losing his opportunity face a top-10 opponent for the first time in his career.
“It’s always frustrating,” says Makdessi. “I think a lot, I reflect a lot. The greatest thing about the 155 division is there’s like over 80 fighters, it’s ridiculous how many fighters and I’m talking about talented fighters. The whole ranking system, in my opinion, doesn’t make any sense. It’s very irrelevant.”
In part because of injuries and the unpredictable nature of MMA, the normally introverted Makdessi has now decided to open himself more to fans. Having never been much of a social media savant, he’s recognized the value of self-promotion in a sport where if you don’t do it yourself — no one is going to do it for you.
“I’ve been very active now,” says Makdessi. “Before I was trying to keep private, but now I’m exposing myself in the sense that I want people to see how I train, my mentality, what it takes to be a high-level fighter.”
That mentality has found him training alongside some of the best fighters in the world at Tristar and Makdessi is no stranger to putting in countless hours of work refining his MMA skills at the gym so it’s no surprise he feels somewhat slighted next to some of his world-class teammates — even the most famous ones.
“I always felt like I was undervalued, I always felt like I was underrated,” says Makdessi. “Nothing to do with the UFC or anything else, just my personal opinion. I just felt like I’m in the gym, I’m surrounded by Georges St-Pierre, Rory MacDonald, and I’m training harder than them, I’m more exciting than them.”
While there’s no one recipe for UFC stardom, Makdessi is doing all he can to break into the mainstream of the sport by having success in all aspects of the game and you can be rest assured that once he finds that highly-coveted sweet spot — he plans to stay there. With or without a Twitter co-sign. “My goal is to be the best,” says Makdessi. “What I mean to be the best, I’m not comparing myself to any other fighter. I want to be the best that I can be, push myself to see what John Makdessi is capable of.”
“It’s my pleasure to go out there and give the fans an exciting fight.” — John Makdessi