Isaac Dulgarian on Winning as Biggest Betting Favorite In UFC History: ‘Pressure Is a Privilege’

Isaac Dulgarian (7-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) got back into the win column after defeating Brendon Marotte (8-3 MMA, 0-2 UFC) at the UFC event held Sept. 7.

Dulgarian said he feels “pretty good” about his second-round arm triangle victory.

“Any time you go into the UFC Octagon and get a finish, it’s a big deal,” Dulgarian told Patch. “I don’t think I showed my full potential, but also, I’m very proud of my performance. I think I did exactly what I was supposed to do; I got him out of there and put on a little beatdown, as well. Basically, one-way traffic.”

Dulgarian entered the fight with Marotte as the largest betting favorite in UFC history, closing on most books around -2400. He said the recognition “speaks volumes” to what he’s done in his young career so far, as well as his potential.

“Definitely, I feel like that’s a big part of why I was that big of a favorite,” he said. “Also, [Marotte] fought Terrance [McKinney] and got knocked out. But Terrance does that to everybody. He even knocked out one of my teammates very early. He’s very good. We didn’t know much about the guy. Just to go in there and fight my fight without watching any film or video on him was a good feeling. 

Dulgarian addressed the pre-fight pressure that comes with being the biggest betting odds favorite in the decades-long history of the promotion.

“It definitely adds pressure, because I already know if you lose being the biggest betting favorite in UFC history, I’d have to delete my social medias,” he said. “People were going to go crazy. There’s added pressure there, but also, one thing that I’ve always known is that pressure is a privilege. I deserved to be in this spot and I earned it. I really think that’s the biggest thing, is that I earned that spot.”

Dulgarian said the wrestling-heavy approach was “part” of his game plan against Marotte, but he wasn’t expecting to lean on it as soon into the bout as he did.

“The real game plan was for me to go out there and – I had my ankles taped, I was ready to kick – and strike with him,” Dulgarian said. “But I really didn’t like how he tried to take the center when we touched gloves, so I kind of went back to my game plan, which was, ‘OK, I know I’m a better grappler than you.’ His game plan was to keep me on my back foot so I can’t shoot as well and keep constant pressure on me. I realized as soon as the fight started, I was like, ‘That’s not happening.’ I just decided to not let him execute his game plan at all and take it into my own control. That’s kind of what happened. I’m happy with it. I wish I got to show off my striking, but it’s going to come out another day. The good thing is, we still haven’t shown what I’m capable of. I’ve basically done the same thing in all of my fights, and I have so much more than that. One day, I’ll have the right opponent who will draw that out.”

Dulgarian said he wasn’t surprised Marotte survived the round one onslaught on the ground, because Dulgarian feels like he let Marotte survive.

“My coaches were telling me to be patient and give my shots the whole fight,” Dulgarian said “Almost the entire time. Every time I started looking to finish, they’d tell me to reel it back out. I think that was a good thing, because it shows that I could finish past the halfway point of the fight. I caught a lot of flak for getting tired in the third round versus Christian [Rodriguez], and it was good to prove to those people I could still finish late in the fight and also feel good doing it and not be tired.”

Dulgarian lost a split decision to Rodriguez in his last bout – the first and only loss of his professional career. He said it was a “good feeling” to get back in the win column against Marotte but feels he should still be undefeated.

“I feel, personally, and I feel most people still believe, I won that fight,” Dulgarian said. “I didn’t walk out of that fight really feeling like a loser. The only thing that made me feel like a loser was walking out with half my check. That was the only bad part about that. It feels good about being in the win column, man. Like I said earlier, getting wins in the UFC is hard. It does not come easy no matter who your opponent is. I’m super blessed to go out there and be able to perform like that and come home without any major injuries or anything like that.”

Dulgarian said he does not have any callouts but wants to fight someone around his level in the featherweight division.

“I’m hoping to get on my second contract. Hopefully, that comes to fruition in the next fight. Hopefully, my next fight, I’m on a new contract and see from there. I feel like that was the best matchup the UFC gave me, my last one [versus Marotte]. The first two, I feel like they tried to get me a little bit. But I proved that I belong. Any of the newer guys coming in or guys sitting around the same experience as me, that would be amazing.”

Dulgarian said he plans to be ready to fight on short notice before the end of the year if needed, as it does not look like he will get a fight scheduled on regular notice before 2024 turns to 2025. But he “100%” wants a fight booked by the early part of next year.

“I’m healthy and ready to go right now,” he said. “I’m going to start training, and we’ll be ready for short-notice opportunities, most definitely.”

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