Top UFC flyweight Zach Makovsky pushed back his interview time a few hours due to some fight week obligations ahead of tonight's (Aug. 16, 2014) UFC Fight Night 47 match-up against Jussier Formiga, his third fight for the promotion. He's usually always around when he says he'll be, so once he was on the phone I jokingly told him that he was big timing me.
"No," scoffed Makovsky. "I don't know," I say, continuing to tease him. "What?" he laughs, fully aware I'm messing with him. Now 4-0 since becoming a flyweight, Makovsky is anything but an egotistical fighter. He won't give you any juicy headlines or call anybody out in the division anytime soon -- that's just not his way -- but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a personality or a sense of humor. Get him going on some old Seinfeld episodes and "Fun Size" will go quote for quote with you, or perhaps break out the infamous "Elaine dance."
Makovsky, 32, was originally on the UFC 177 card that was to take place at the Staples Center last week in California. But as we know, that card was cancelled due to Jose Aldo's injury and many fighters were displaced to different upcoming cards. The No. 9-ranked UFC flyweight ended up in Bangor, Maine of all places. The city has a population of around 33,000 and houses the Cross Insurance Center, where UFC Fight Night 47 will take place.
According to Makovsky, the place known as "The Queen City of the East," leaves much to be desired.
"Not much in this area, it's pretty dead," he said. "Everything closes early. We tried to go get food last night at around 11 o'clock and everything was closed. Really small town."
It goes without saying that the former Bellator bantamweight champion would much rather have gone out west for his third UFC fight instead of a tiny city in Maine, but he was fine with having some extra preparation time. The change in date and location didn't come without some blowback though, as some plans had to be cancelled and his appearance on the prelims will now be on FOX Sports 2 as opposed to the widely available FOX Sports 1. The former is still not available in certain cities throughout the U.S.
"I'm on the prelims, so I'm on FOX Sports 2," Makovsky said. "It's definitely not as good as I would like it to be, but it happens. Two weeks more preparation time is good for me, but it definitely messed some things up. I had a corner that couldn't make it and I had to switch up my corner. I had a vacation planned to Puerto Rico. I was supposed to be there this week, so I had to switch that. My parents had already booked trips to L.A. and they couldn't get out of it. As far as preparing for the fight, that didn't effect me, but the other outside stuff was a hassle, but It's all good."
For this training camp, Makovsky, once again spent some time up at TriStar Gym in Montreal, Canada. He has also continued to work with esteemed striking coach Phil Nurse at the Watt in New York City, as well as Marcelo Garcia's Academy, which is also located in the "Big Apple."
"Fun Size" worked on "not letting Formiga take advantage of certain scenarios" in the grappling department with Firas Zahabi at Tristar, and Nurse has continued to "add more variety" and "give more options" to his striking, Makovsky says. While his striking continues to be the most evident of the most current version of himself, the 18-4 fighter out of Philadelphia continues to bestow praise on Nurse helping him with an intangible asset: his confidence.
"He has coached some of the best guys that MMA has ever produced," said Makovsky. "Guys like George St-Pierre, Jon Jones, and Frankie Edgar. He tells me that he believes I can do these things and it helps me believe in them more. He always tells me, 'You as a fighter go out and pick coaches that you believe in and you stick with coaches that you believe in and that you believe can help you. When those coaches come back and want to consistently work with you it's because they see something in you and they believe in you. And when you have that belief in your coaches and they believe in you, that really opens the door for you to believe in yourself wholeheartedly and that is what makes the difference, and you need those first two steps kind of, to really reinforce it.' He has really helped my mental game. That is the biggest thing that I've gotten with Phil Nurse."
Makovsky's confidence and striking were on full display in his first two wins over Scott Jorgensen and Josh Sampo. His current opponent, Jussier Formiga, is coming off a submission victory over Jorgensen and is now 2-2 in the UFC flyweight division and 16-3 overall. Makovsky said "it's hard to put much stock" in how quick Formiga got "Young Guns" back for the rear naked choke finish due to the controversial headbutt that occurred and forced the action to the ground.
Nonetheless, the former Drexel Dragon considers Formiga a "dangerous opponent," but he likes how his overall skill set lines up against the Brazilian and feels that will be the difference.
"It's a good match up for me," Makovsky said. "Not that he doesn't possess problems, he certainly does. He has great jiu-jitsu, especially his top game and his takedowns are actually pretty strong. He's definitely a threat if he gets on top of me, so that is definitely a position I'm going to have to be very cautious with. His striking isn't bad either. I think he throws decent punches, but he just doesn't really like to engage and I think that's why those haven't been a factor for him. He has good mechanics. He's a dangerous opponent, but he always fights one kind of way. He disengages, disengages getting you to come in. He likes to get to the clinch and get you to the ground, control the fight with pressure and get to your back. I don't really see him having much versatility other than that during a fight. I'm hoping my versatility, my distance, and my angles will all give him trouble."
The flyweight division is wide open as far as contending for the title goes. That's because current champion, Demetrious Johnson, has defended his belt four straight times, won six in a row overall and has defeated everyone in the top half of the division. The No.8-ranked Chris Cariaso will face Johnson for the title in September, so Makovsky knows every fight is a chance to rise up in the rankings and get a crack at Johnson.
"This fight has potential big implications to move up for sure. Formiga is ranked sixth and he has a win over Cariaso who is fighting for the title now, so it's definitely a big fight," said Makovsky, who spent some time training with Cariaso while at Tristar. "Whether it's just another a top-contender fight or a title fight after we will see. Either way, those are big steps in the right direction and the direction that I am starting to go. I know how important this fight is."
"It's easy to look ahead and say 'title fight' or whatever, but of course, you don't get there without winning this one. I really do respect Formiga's game. Most of the guys who have beat me have been good jiu-jitsu guys. I've beaten some good jiu-jitsu guys too, but I definitely have to be careful. I'm definitely more experienced and I know how to prepare better for certain people now. Of course I know that the title is maybe down the road, hopefully for me, but you can't look too far. I'm not looking at the whole map. I'm just looking at the road with only what my headlights can show. I'm not looking past my headlights."
In addition to the abundance of confidence he has these days, Makovsky says he is the "most skilled and knowledgeable" fighter that he has ever been. The diligent work ethic he has always possessed combined with the great combination of coaches has him preparing and performing better than ever. This fight in Bangor, Maine, is most likely the most important of his career. With a win, the Seinfeld fan was asked if it would be "The Summer of Zach"?
"Zach is getting upset," he says in his best George Costanza impersonation. "It's a big fight and I feel really good."