Making it to the UFC is considered reaching the pinnacle of mixed martial arts competition. The pressure to perform is as high as ever as a fighter makes their inaugural appearance on the big stage. Now imagine tackling that opportunity on short notice with little to no time to prepare. To increase difficulty, add in the fact of opening up the pay-per-view main card for one of the most storied rematches in UFC history between Nate Diaz and Conor McGregor. No big deal right? Such is the situation for American Top Team's Sabah Homasi as he is slated to face the returning Tim Means at UFC 202 this Saturday night.
Homasi spoke with Bloody Elbow's Eddie Mercado ahead of his debut bout to give his thoughts on his opponent and divulge the unique way in which he discovered his UFC contract.
Interview: American Top Team's Sabah Homasi UFC 202 **AUDIO ONLY**
How did Sabah Homasi's management team alert him of his UFC contract? By way of prank of course:
"They were actually playing a joke on me. Brian Butler and Bryan Hamper were telling me 'ah, we got some bad news.' They told me I was going to be suspended for a year and like all this stuff. I was like what, this makes no goddam sense. They tried saying that I failed a drug test after a fight. I was like, 'I didn't even get tested'... 'and even if I did I would be okay.' They were like 'man we're just fucking with you. Congratulations, we got you a UFC contract.' I was like 'you mother f--kers!' I've had a smile on my face all week."
With Tim Means returning from a USADA suspension, Homasi is hoping that his opponent is off of the 'juice':
"My thoughts on him, he's a tough dude. I'm guessing USADA's been testing him so I'm hoping he's off the juice. I'll tell you what, it's going to be a chin-check night for him. He thinks he's going to have an easy W, thinks he has an easy fight on his hands but there's a lot of things I'm capable of doing that I haven't had to use in previous fights. A lot of new stuff. I'm going to show I'm a complete fighter on Saturday night."
American Top Team's Sabah Homasi is expecting to earn fight of the night accolades at UFC 202:
"I'm going to take whatever he gives me. He's a really good striker so I got to be aware of his straight left. He has good kicks too. It's cool man because that's my game. I love to strike. So if he wants to sit there and strike with me then I'll take that any day. I mean all I got to do is just touch his chin... I'm just looking forward to the fight honestly man because he brings it; I bring it. In my opinion it's going to be fight of the night."
To watch Sabah Homasi's promotional debut against Tim Means, tune in to UFC 202 at 10:00 P.M. EDT this Saturday night live on pay-per-view. Stay tuned to Bloody Elbow for all of your event coverage including previews, results, highlights, and more! Video of this interview can be seen at the top of the page.
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UFC 202 Video: Homasi hopes Tim Means is 'off the juice'
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