Fighting in the UFC Is a Dream Come True for Darren Uyenoyama, Who Takes Us Through the Week Leading Up to His First Bout

These ingredients are not a secret.

Darren Uyenoyama’s recipe for success begins with hard work. Add lots of desire, mix in dedication and top it all off with motivation … like being a 3-1 underdog. The yield is one unanimous-decision victory over Kid Yamamoto.

In the following story, Uyenoyama—a BJJ black belt whose MMA journey has led him to DEEP, Cage Combat, Shooto, DREAM and Strikeforce—walks us through the final week prior to this bout, his UFC debut against the veteran mixed martial artist.

THE WEEK BEFORE
Because of the FOX coverage, we knew the fights would start earlier, so we adjusted my schedule so I’d be used to fighting at 2:30. That really was an adjustment too because I’m used to fighting at 8 or 9 p.m., and it’s important to make that adjustment because of my routine. I have to alter everything—from eating, getting the right amount of rest and warming up properly—so I’m on the new schedule and prepared.

THE WEIGH-IN
We knew Kid was a tough 135 pounder, so we were looking for every advantage we could find. Thus, I bulked up to 150 and cut back to 135.

The cut was not too bad. On the day of the weigh-in, I had 5 pounds to go. To lose the final pounds, we ended up in a 24 Hour Fitness, and that was quite an experience because there was a mixture of fighters and regular customers in the sauna.

Prior to stepping on the scale, they had us on a tight time constraint because of the live TV coverage. To make sure everything went smoothly, we had a three-hour wait. That might have been the closet thing to death I’ve ever experienced.

When I stepped on the scale, I was a little nervous because it seemed like it took them forever to figure out my weight. I knew [UFC president] Dana [White] would be mad if I were a pound over. I made weight and then squared off with Kid, but it was not one of those in-your-face type of things. We have too much respect for each other for that.

NOTE: The full story is in the April issue of Ultimate MMA.

Uyenoyama’s Stats

Record: 7-3
• Sub and Decision Wins: 3 each
• Team: Faito Tamashii Combat Club
• Age: 32

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