Athletes
Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani | The New Kid In Town
DWCS Grad Honest In Discussing Pressure, Expectations Heading Into UFC Debut
When Jean-Paul Lebosnoyani and his team walked into the room where interviews for UFC.com are taking place this week, he was handed a microphone, told he would be speaking with me, and promptly went to sit in the chair beside the camera, not the one stationed against the lit backdrop, where the talent is clearly meant to reside.
Everyone laughed, and the recent Dana White’s Contender Series grad immediately recounted his experience in Las Vegas this fall, where he turned the wrong way out of his dressing room and was asked, “What are you going to do, run through the wall like the Kool-Aid Man?”
To be fair, the APEX is a confusing collection of similar-looking hallways and multiple turns, but Tuesday’s seating miscue was more a function of this being his first time through the UFC Fight Week cycle when he’s the one at the center of things.
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“It feels amazing,” he said with a smile, still chuckling from the way things kicked off just a few days ahead of his promotional debut opposite Phil Rowe at Toyota Center here in Houston. “I’ve been a part of a bunch of fight weeks — for Brian Ortega; for Ozzy Diaz, my teammate — so it really is a cool feeling to have it be about me.
“I’m a very selfish person, so this is definitely stroking the ego quite a bit.”
That wouldn’t be the only time Lebosnoyani was unwaveringly honest during our conversation, another indicator that he’s new to the pre-fight conversations that frequently feature practiced answers, platitudes, and promises of a first-round knockout. It’s also part of why the welterweight prospect from Hermosa Beach is likely to be an instant fan favorite in the UFC.
The other reason is that he’s a dynamic talent and capable of shaking things up in the 170-pound ranks right from the get-go.
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A highly regarded talent whose father learned Brazilian jiu jitsu from the great Helio Gracie and coached UFC Hall of Famer Royce Gracie during his career, Lebosnoyani has been working to compete on the biggest stage in the sport for the last several years. A championship opportunity under the LFA banner had him on the cusp, but a gnarly cut, the remnants of which still slice through his right eyebrow, halted the fight in the second round and kept him on the regional circuit a little longer.
Three more victories with the outstanding regional promotion earned him a call to compete on Dana White’s Contender Series last season, and just over a minute into his matchup with Jack Congdon, Lebosnoyani showed he’s much more than a jiu jitsu player, blasting Congdon with a left high kick that had him out on his feet and secured him a place on the UFC roster.
“My foundation has always been jiu jitsu, but in the last five years, I’ve really tried to balance out my jiu jitsu and my striking so that they’re a little more even,” Lebosnoyani said of his multi-faceted game. “Obviously, every fight starts on the feet, so when it starts on the feet, I want to have the abilities to finish it there.
“Ever since joining and starting the Cobra Team with my five teammates, we put a lot of emphasis on the striking, the distance control, and generating power,” continued the 27-year-old debutant, who carries a 9-2 record with eight finishes into his debut this weekend. “Moving to Vegas, training at the UFC PI with our striking coach Matheus (Naccahe), he’s really levelled up my game more than anybody else. I’ve spent countless hours on the pads, drills, doing the things that people really don’t want to do, and the results show.”
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While the results have been undeniable lately, this is where the real work begins.
Reaching the UFC is a goal carried by every fighter that steps in and competes, and earning the opportunity to compete inside the Octagon is a huge achievement. But staying in the UFC for an extended period of time is a tall order, and even at the outset of his journey, Lebosnoyani admitted there is a great deal of pressure to perform.
As such, he’s keeping things as simple as possible heading into this weekend.
“I feel like getting in the UFC is one of the hardest things to do, as someone that has been knocking at the door for many years,” he began. “Finally being here is definitely a great feeling, and there is a lot of responsibility with having to perform.
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“Me personally, this being my first time, my goal is perform on Saturday night, and I’m not looking past that, at all. I think taking it one step at a time — maybe next time I’m in this chair I’ll have some goals for you, but right now, it’s to kick that door in and let everybody know that I’m here.”
Standing between Lebosnoyani and the statement effort he’s hoping for this weekend is Rowe, a fellow Contender Series grad who has tantalized with his talents in the past, but failed to put things together fully at times. Currently in the midst of a three-fight skid, Rowe raised his hand to replace Austin Vanderford opposite the UFC freshman this weekend, jumping at any opportunity to potentially reverse his course.
When asked about the shift in opponent and what Rowe brings to the table, Lebosnoyani’s unfiltered honesty appeared once more.
“Honestly, I’m not a big fan of MMA, so I don’t know a lot of people,” he said, smiling. “Once I got the name, I was like, ‘Alright — let’s do it!’ I’m not gonna say, ‘No,’ especially on my debut. Since then, I’ve watched his fights, and he’s a very high-level guy — he has the ability to fight on the ground, fight on the feet, and he’s huge; he’s really tall.
“There are definitely some things I feel like I can exploit, and my last four fights have been against guys that are six-foot-plus, so I feel like I do pretty well against tall guys,” he added. “That being said, this is definitely the biggest test of my career, so I’m looking forward to going out there and facing him.”
One might think that a fighter not paying much attention to the sport would make it easier to navigate the nerves and mental traps many succumb to when they know far too much about their opponents and the weaponry they carry into battle, but Lebosnoyani feels the exact opposite holds true, at least for him.
“I’m an insecure person, and I think that’s why I am so good at what I do because I am constantly trying to get better,” he admitted, drawing a laugh from his team off camera. “It really doesn’t matter who they put in front of me — I’m gonna second-guess myself, I’m gonna trip out and wonder if I’m gonna win or lose, but I feel like that’s what makes me sharp, that’s what keeps leveling me up every single fight.
“Doesn’t really matter who they put in front of me, I’m gonna be scared.”
With that constant fear keeping him pressing to improve and the desire to show out in his first opportunity on the big stage, Lebosnoyani is ready to share the Octagon with Rowe and eager to step into the fray on Saturday.
How will he get his hand raised? That part he’s still not sure about yet.
“It’s really hard to tell what Saturday is gonna look like because I’ve never done it,” he said when given the chance to forecast how the fight will play out. “I think for me, it’s just gonna be about being present, taking in the moment.
“In terms of the fight, obviously I have a game plan — my team and I have created a very good game plan, so I’m gonna follow that, and if I choose to throw that out the window, maybe I’ll do that too.”
Everyone in the room chuckled, except for Lebosnoyani, who was once again just being honest.
“Either way, I think everything is going to work out for me.”
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