Marc Diakiese was in danger of becoming the UFC’s latest forgotten man when this year began.
Three defeats in a row and his octagon career in the balance, Diakiese stepped into the cage against Joseph Duffy last March. The subsequent dominant performance salvaged Diakiese’s UFC credentials just as many had written him off as another hype job.
Last Saturday at UFC Fight Night 160 in Copenhagen, Diakiese put in an even better display against Lando Vannata. ‘I’d say that was one of my best performances, I was relaxed. It went exactly as we expected and I stuck to the game plan,’ he told Metro.co.uk.
For Diakiese, the last two years have been a period of rapid change. He moved back to Great Britain from America where he was training with American Top Team. He is now based in Leeds with AVT MMA. And the 26-year-old has reaped the benefits of what was a risky call to return home during his worst period of results as a fighter.
‘I’ve had to change the way I think about this sport. I’ve got to have fun with and more importantly, have the right people around me. I have a new confidence now and I know what’s what moving forward,’ Diakiese explained.
‘Stick from people, that comes and goes. Love and hate disappears in seconds. The same people who say you’re the best will say you’re crap the next day.
Big performance here from the Bonecrusher! ?@Marc_Diakiese #UFCCopenhagen ??
? Watch LIVE on @UFCFightPass NOW! pic.twitter.com/cYYJUdJxrh
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) September 28, 2019
‘I’ve had to take that on board and change the way I think about that. I was losing, but I was losing in the UFC against the best fighters in the world.
‘For me, it was a lesson I was working through and a lesson I needed. I needed to understand the game better and figure out what I needed.
‘Most of the fights I’d go into I’d have no game plan. I was just aggressive, that’s it.
‘There was no one telling me what to do. I have that now with my team. I don’t regret anything. The past is done and it’s about moving forward.’
When Diakiese is reminded he didn’t win a fight for over two years, he laughs: ‘I didn’t even know I was losing for two years? That’s a long time not to win a fight, isn’t it?’
MORE: Marc Diakiese forced to learn hard lessons after falling off UFC’s hype train
Diakiese is a world away from the brash 23-year-old lightweight who made his debut. Diakiese took the UFC by storm and attracted attention as a result. But, he fell off the radar with even greater speed and Diakiese had to rediscover the confidence that once came so easy to him.
‘I had to grow up and change myself,’ he said. ‘I had no mental coach or anybody telling me what to do. But I’ve learned from those mistakes.
‘Everything has to be done right now. I’m not rushing anything. Nobody is pushing me into anything. I’ll take my time and do what I want to do.’
‘I’m seeing that now with other fighters,’ he continued. ‘You’re on a high one moment and then you lose one fight and you’re nothing.
‘I took what that felt like [to be written off] and moved forward. I know what I’m going to do in fights.
‘Everyone is talking because I won, but I know myself the work isn’t over. I might be winning now, but this division is deadly.
‘I have to go straight back to work. One week, heal up and then back in the gym.’
That doesn’t mean Diakiese will soon be back in the octagon. He plans to take the rest of the year to work in the gym. A return at UFC London in March is his plan.
But, having learned from the past when he would have had a slew of names ready to go after following a big win, Diakiese isn’t too concerned with who he faces next.
‘There was a few things I wasn’t happy with in the fight [against Vannata] and I’ve said that to my coach. I need to keep working,’ he said.
‘I’ll take anybody the UFC give me. Anybody can get beaten at any time, so whoever they give me, I’ll fight.’
MORE: When do tickets for Bellator London go on sale? Fight card for November return
