Goiti Yamauchi aims to prove himself as one of the top welterweights in the PFL by defeating Andrey Koreshkov, a former Bellator champion, at an upcoming event, believing that his improved skills and timing give him an edge.
Goiti Yamauchi wants to prove he’s one of the best 170-pounders on the PFL roster. He aims to do this by beating Andrey Koreshkov at Friday night’s event in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Koreshkov, a former Bellator welterweight champion, has an impressive resume. He’s beaten fighters like Douglas Lima, Benson Henderson, Lorenz Larkin, and Chidi Njokuani inside the Bellator cage. However, he stumbled in his PFL debut, losing a decision to Magomed Umalatov in April.
Yamauchi topped Neiman Gracie on the same card. Confidently, he believes a finish on Friday guarantees him a spot in the PFL welterweight playoffs. But he’s not just after points.
“A fight doesn’t always go the way we expect,” Yamauchi told MMA Fighting. “The important thing for me is timing.” He added that he thinks Koreshkov’s time is over and that he wants a piece of the cake too. “I believe I’ll be more prepared mentally and spiritually.”
Since moving up to welterweight in 2022, Yamauchi has won three of four fights. This includes finishes over Gracie and Levan Chokheli but suffered his only defeat at the hands of Michael Page.
The 31-year-old Brazilian feels more complete as a mixed martial artist now. He celebrates facing Koreshkov at this point in his career.
“This is the perfect fight for me,” Yamauchi said. He mentioned that they were always close in rankings and felt this fight made sense but believes now is the right time for it.
He emphasized that his experience at welterweight and past training camps have prepared him for this moment. “I’m very happy with this matchup,” he said, predicting it will be a great opportunity.
Moving up to 170 pounds opened his eyes to diverse training regimens. He started paying more attention to wrestling techniques instead of relying too much on playing guard in the cage.
“I felt the need to add more wrestling,” Yamauchi said. Interestingly, focusing on wrestling for MMA improved other aspects of his game too—his striking, jiu-jitsu, and conditioning all got better. This new approach has given him more confidence to execute his plans effectively.