Athletes
Nikolas Motta: 'I Have All The Skills Now'
Lightweight Nikolas Motta Looks For His Second Straight Victory When He Faces Maheshate Hayisaer at UFC Macau
Nikolas Motta has always been a citizen of the world, a true mixed martial arts ronin. From his native Brazil to New Jersey to Las Vegas and now Thailand, Motta has always gone to where he can learn the most and grow as a fighter.
And while Thailand was the 31-year-old’s latest stop as he prepared for Saturday’s bout in Macau against Maheshate, when he gets home to Las Vegas, it will truly be home as he prepares to become a United States citizen.
In fact, he could have been one already, but being in training camp far from the States forced a postponement of his interview earlier this month. But he hasn’t been slacking on his studies.
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“I know a lot about the constitution,” Motta said proudly. “When I was in Vegas, I was studying a lot. Now I'm so focused on the fight and I just train twice a day, morning, afternoon. Then I eat dinner early and I go to bed early at night.”
It’s been good for Motta, who also used the heat and humidity in Thailand to get down to the lightweight limit with no issues, and in addition to working with the renowned Hickman brothers, he also has a friend and teammate with him in middleweight contender Chris Curtis.
“It's been great,” Motta said. “Since the first week I made so many improvements and it was good for me to be super focused with no distractions. Vegas is my home, and I love Xtreme Couture, I love my teammates, and I love the PI. But in this moment, I think that this was a good move because of the weather here and everything and because jet lag also can be a problem.”
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Especially when you’re fighting in China. So when he asked for opinions around the gym about spending his camp in Thailand, Curtis was the first to tell him that it was a great idea. And that he’d join him.
Now all he has to worry about is the fight against Sichuan’s Maheshate, who is coming off an April win over Gabriel Benitez that evened his UFC slate at 2-2. As for Motta, he will be making his first start since a 63 second knockout of Tom Nolan in March, also putting his record in the Octagon at 2-2 with 1 NC. So, this is an evenly matched bout in many aspects, but Motta believes he has the edge because he’s getting to fight in an arena packed with fans for the first time as a UFC fighter, and he’s loving it, even if the fans might be on his opponent’s side.
“I always like it to fight when the crowd and everything's against me,” said Motta. “And that happened a lot when I moved to the U.S. Most of the time, I had to fight in the guy's hometown and I was a foreigner. But I think that made me so much better being under pressure and against the odds. I think it's very cool. I don't know if I can say enemy territory because it's not real enemies, it's just competition. But yeah, I'm excited. I hope I can walk with my music and touch people's hands and jump and dance. I never had that walk.”
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That’s a long time, especially considering that his win on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020 was also in the UFC APEX, but more than four years after that seminal victory, everything is coming together for Motta.
“When I've been at the gym and training with the Hickman brothers and with all the experienced fighters, I can see how much I grew and how much experience I have,” he said. “I have all the knowledge, and I have all the skills now.”
And he’s ready to use them…as well as share what he’s learned with his teammates, including recent Ultimate Fighter winner Mairon Santos, just like he was taught by some of the greats of the game when he was coming up.
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“I started when I was 18, and I was growing up around some of the best,” Motta said. “And then when I came to the States, it was also with some of the best, too, in New Jersey. And sometimes I used to think how cool that was. I didn't have nothing to offer. I was just a kid. They would teach me everything and help me. And now I think when people help us, it makes us also want to give back to other people, too, without wanting anything in exchange. So the same way I was inspired, maybe I’m going to be an inspiration for someone else that's going to come after me.”
UFC Fight Night: Yan vs Figueiredo took place live from Galaxy Arena in Macau, China on November 23, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!