Vinc Pichel plans to make up for lost time, wants at least one more fight in 2020
Vinc Pichel is looking to ramp up his activity and make a run in the lightweight division.
Vinc Pichel is looking to ramp up his activity and make a run in the UFC lightweight division.
The “Ultimate Fighter” Season 15 alum has been plagued with injuries since joining the UFC roster in 2012, which has halted his momentum at 155 pounds.
But, after being sidelined for over a year due to hip surgery, Pichel (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) returned to defeat veteran Jim Miller via unanimous decision at UFC 252.
Now “From Hell” wants to keep his winning streak going by fighting at least once more in 2020 and, depending on the matchups he’s handed, he doesn’t see himself too far away from lightweight contention.
“I’m definitely trying to fight one more time before the end of the year,” Pichel told MMA Junkie. “I feel like I have a lot of time I need to make up for because of my injuries and my history a little bit. But yeah, I’m looking to fight by the end of the year, I talked to Sean (Shelby) about it.”
He continued, “Honestly, depending on my opponents and my performances, I wouldn’t think I’m too many fights away. I would say – I don’t know – three to five fights. Three to five good fights would get me in title contention honestly.”
At 37, Pichel knows he’s not the new kid on the block, but insists that he’s feeling great. His form speaks for itself – four wins from his last five fights since returning from his three-year layoff in 2017.
“I’m totally real with myself, I’m becoming to be an old man in this sport,” Pichel said. “But when I’m at the gym, you don’t know the difference between me and the 20-year-olds that are in there training – you would think I’m their age. I’m just fortunate, I can’t say this enough, I got blessed with good genes by my parents. My body is holding up good, I’m physically strong, I have good conditioning right out the gate, so I have a lot of natural attributes that I’m just super blessed to have, and that have contributed to the way I fight and the length of my career and how it’s continuing to go on.”