Isaac Dulgarian's Fresh Start in Colorado After Tough loss

About the only negative in the whole situation is that Dulgarian lost that fight with Rodriguez via split decision, putting a mark in his loss column for the first time in seven pro bouts. But as far as Dulgarian is concerned, that bump in the road wasn’t even that.

“When all the media and everybody thinks you won the fight, it's hard to say, ‘Oh, I lost,’” said Dulgarian, who got the media nod, 9-0-2, on the MMADecisions.com website. “I know I won the fight. My heart knows I won the fight and just a couple of guys said I didn't, and that's just how it is. So it didn't really affect me too much. Like I said, my heart knows I won, my teammates know I won, anyone that watched the fight knows I won. So, it's just about taking lessons from that fight and gaining the experience that I did in that fight and using it and my training in future battles.”

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Okay, doesn’t sound like a bad night after all, especially when you consider that his biggest fan (well, outside of Alexa and Ayra) was in attendance at the APEX. And for grandfather and grandson, it was a moment they’ll never forget.

“He loved it,” said Dulgarian. “He thought I got hosed, as well, so he was pretty pissed, but he enjoyed it and he was just happy that I got to perform at that level and that he got to be there. Yeah, I think he had a great time.”

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“Yeah, it was good,’ said Dulgarian, who, as a father now, has a hint of what he’s given his grandfather, and it has nothing to do with wins or losses.

“It's amazing, because he literally has put everything that he had into me,” Dulgarian said. “Every single dollar that he had, he put into me; all of his time, all of his energy, all of his effort on a daily basis went into me, not even his marriage or anything else; he put everything into me. So just being able to be at this level, it showed that it was all worth something and it gave me the opportunity to change my life and now that I have a daughter, change her life, I can't be any more thankful for that sacrifices that he made for me. So it's just amazing to have him there and be able to perform while he's still here and I keep doing it. I still want to make him even more proud, but now it's really about making myself proud of the work that I'm doing because he's going to be proud, regardless.”

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On Saturday, it’s a chance to get back into the win column when he meets Brendon Marotte, and one of the learned lessons he’ll be bringing into the Octagon is how to manage a three-round fight, something he never had to do before as an amateur or pro before March. And the prolific first-round finisher lived to tell about it. 

“I didn’t have a problem with it,” he said of going the distance. “I got a little tired, but I was still having fun, even when it wasn't going my way, and I learned a lot about myself. I won't quit on myself when things do get hard. I think a lot of people would've quit in that third round and just let the guy choke him. But he wasn't hurting me, and I could tell he was just as tired as I was. I just needed to do more and change tactics a little bit earlier in the fight. I tried to change tactics a little too late and I just didn't have the juice for it.”

That won’t be the case moving forward, and while he would love to start a new first-round finishing streak, he’s well aware that at this level, he might have to swim in deep waters again.

“It's going to happen, and I know I can, no problem,” he said. “I do it every day in training, so it's just having that first experience. It's obviously hard when you're doing it at the highest level.”

But Dulgarian isn’t afraid of doing hard things at this level. In fact, it’s where he’s always wanted to be. And now he’s proved that he belongs.