Nikolas Motta has expressed his frustration over his no-contest bout with Trey Ogden at UFC Vegas 82, stating he has no interest in a rematch and criticising Ogden’s fighting style, but is looking forward to his upcoming fight with Tom Nolan at UFC Vegas 84.
Trey Ogden was on the brink of victory. He was just two minutes from a decision win when he secured an arm-triangle choke against Nikolas Motta at UFC Vegas 82. But then, referee Mike Beltran called a premature halt to the match, thinking Motta was out. The result? A no-contest. A frustrating end for both fighters. But Motta? He’s not looking for a rematch.
Motta’s back in the cage in less than two months. He’s set to face Tom Nolan at UFC Vegas 84 this Saturday. He spoke on MMA Fighting’s Trocação Franca podcast recently. His take on Ogden? Not a match-up that gets his blood pumping anymore.
“I feel like I didn’t even fight that night,” Motta confessed. He admitted his performance was subpar. He was under pressure, it being the last fight of his contract. Plus, he found Ogden’s style dull. “He doesn’t want to fight, he just tries not to get hit. Sometimes he even runs too. His grappling game was on-point that night. I’ve made some mistakes that I’ve fixed since, so that fight was a great learning experience for me.”
Ogden got to speak during the UFC broadcast. He wasn’t the winner, but he had more time in front of reporters backstage at the event’s post-fight press conference. That irked Motta even more.
“I was a bit pissed because he didn’t submit me, I didn’t tap, and they removed me from the octagon and he stayed there for an interview like he submitted me,” Motta said. “At the time I was like, ‘F***, I’ll ask to fight this guy again,’ but then I thought, ‘Nah, I don’t want to fight him again, he’s boring.’ He doesn’t like to fight for real. It’s hard to put on a show against him.
“His fight with Ignacio Bahamondes, he was losing all rounds and still played safe in the third. When I was studying his fights, I was thinking to myself, ‘This guy is so boring.’ Nothing against his skills, he’s a great athlete with great conditioning and looks big for the division, so he must be very disciplined, and he had the perfect strategy to fight me that night.”
Motta was worried about a UFC release after the no-contest, which was the last fight of his contract. He’s only won one of his four octagon appearances. But in the end, UFC offered him another contract. He’s now set to face Nolan at the UFC APEX on Jan. 13.
“I controlled what I could,” Motta said. “I fought Saturday and went back on diet on Monday no matter what. If they cut me, I was ready to chase another fight elsewhere. I won’t stop, I won’t quit. I’ve made plans for a worst-case scenario. I was excited to spend Christmas and the holidays with my family in Minas Gerais, but that was my plan, I had to do that, and it was worth it because the UFC gave me another opportunity and a new contract. That’s proof that it’s worth chasing what you want and working hard for it.”
“I was worried because that was my last fight and I couldn’t make any mistake,” he continued. “It took me 10 years to enter the UFC and I couldn’t make mistakes, and that held me back a little bit [in the fight]. I like to listen to podcasts and learn, and I listened to Lyoto [Machida] the other day and he gave the example of when he lost the belt. He was obsessed by the fact he was the champion, and we can’t do that. We have to focus on the action. And I plan on doing that Saturday. God willing, I’ll go back to winning and showing I’m here to stay.”
The Brazilian lightweight said he’s fixed mistakes in camp and will show “a whole new Nikolas Motta” this Saturday. His opponent, Nolan, is 6-0 with four stoppages to his credit, including a knockout over Bogdan Grad at the UFC’s Contender Series this past August.
“[Nolan] is a guy that fights for real, he goes in there for the knockout or the submission, so this is going to be a show,” Motta said. “I plan on using my experience. He’s much younger, 23, and I’m way more experienced than him. I’ve been around for many years and I plan on using that experience — and at the same time be what I always was, aggressive. Sometimes you tend to overthink things as you get older and more experienced.”