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Archie Colgan is about to do something reasonably fascinating.
Although his professional MMA career didn’t start until a year into the so-called “COVID Era,” in March 2021, he’s about to fight for a major promotion’s title. From a time perspective, fighting for a PFL belt five years into his pro career seems crazy on the surface until one realizes his champion opponent, Usman Nurmagomedov, won his first major title in about the same amount of time.
But seeing the 31-year-old Colgan, a former standout D-1 wrestler, as a fighter who never experienced a pro MMA fight before the COVID era gives plenty of credence to the idea that new stars in the space are forming with regularity, and Colgan thinks he’s poised to be one of them. Colgan (13-0) will put his unbeaten record on the line against a fellow undefeated fighter in champ Nurmagomedov (21-0) for the lightweight belt at PFL New York, which is set for July 31 at UBS Arena in Belmont on Long Island.
“I’m happy with my road to this moment, and I think that ultimately I could have been rushed faster if I didn't have the people that I have in my corner,” Colgan told MMA Junkie Radio. “A lot of these people have helped me understand, like, ‘Hey, you're going to be here. You're going to get there and it doesn't have to be right now. When we get there, we're going to be ready for that moment.’ And that is obviously a big thing to bite off there. It's humbling.
“It's a hard thing. It’s a tough pill to swallow because you think you're ready and you have confidence that you're ready. But over time, things will work out the way that they should. I think, ultimately, the people in my corner that have helped me – teammates and coaches and manager and stuff – have helped me build out this structure to where I'm meeting at this point when I'm supposed to meet at this point. And I believe I'm ready now.”
Colgan fought twice in the LFA in quick order in 2021 and won his first two fights by knockout. He signed with Bellator and rose up quickly with knockout wins. When the competition turned to names with plenty more experience, like Emmanuel Sanchez, Pieter Buist and Thibault Gouti, he wasn’t putting them away – but he was outworking them without much resistance.
When he transitioned to the PFL, he’s remained a heavy favorite in fights and wins over Mansour Barnaoui and Jay Jay Wilson, the latter of which came this past October and helped the promotional brass see Colgan was ready to be in contention. And now, after Nurmagomedov’s latest title win over Alfie Davis in February, he’ll be tested by Colgan.
The idea of Nurmagomedov’s Dagestani wrestling against the American wrestling style Colgan brings has made for a potentially intriguing fight. But Colgan said he’s not going to overanalyze things.
“I just want to win an MMA fight,” Colgan said. “It's not like I have this goal that I have to go out there and outwrestle him, (or) I have this goal that I have to go out there and outstrike him. I have to beat him in an MMA fight. That's everything mixed together. That's who can do that the best, who can mix in the wrestling and the striking and defend each other's stuff while implementing their own the best. That's all I'm interested in doing. I'm not interested in trying to not ever get taken down and only get my takedowns and just win wrestling and then end up losing a fight, or just try to focus on striking (and) end up losing a fight.
"I'm trying to win this MMA fight. It's going to have to be all of it, but I'm not focused on just trying to win certain segments.”
Regardless of how it plays out come fight night, in the next couple months of prep work and camp, Colgan knows he’ll be gearing up for not just a title fight, but one with some extra juice behind it thanks to the champion’s family pedigree.
And Colgan said it would be crazy to not expect him to be extra amped at the thought of not only handing a Nurmagomedov his first loss, but taking a title from him at the same time.
“I mean, 100 percent, that's the whole goal of wanting to challenge somebody who's been champion like he has, and who carries the name that he carries and and the reputation that comes with it.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: For Archie Colgan, PFL title shot feels like just the right time
Continue reading...
Although his professional MMA career didn’t start until a year into the so-called “COVID Era,” in March 2021, he’s about to fight for a major promotion’s title. From a time perspective, fighting for a PFL belt five years into his pro career seems crazy on the surface until one realizes his champion opponent, Usman Nurmagomedov, won his first major title in about the same amount of time.
But seeing the 31-year-old Colgan, a former standout D-1 wrestler, as a fighter who never experienced a pro MMA fight before the COVID era gives plenty of credence to the idea that new stars in the space are forming with regularity, and Colgan thinks he’s poised to be one of them. Colgan (13-0) will put his unbeaten record on the line against a fellow undefeated fighter in champ Nurmagomedov (21-0) for the lightweight belt at PFL New York, which is set for July 31 at UBS Arena in Belmont on Long Island.
“I’m happy with my road to this moment, and I think that ultimately I could have been rushed faster if I didn't have the people that I have in my corner,” Colgan told MMA Junkie Radio. “A lot of these people have helped me understand, like, ‘Hey, you're going to be here. You're going to get there and it doesn't have to be right now. When we get there, we're going to be ready for that moment.’ And that is obviously a big thing to bite off there. It's humbling.
“It's a hard thing. It’s a tough pill to swallow because you think you're ready and you have confidence that you're ready. But over time, things will work out the way that they should. I think, ultimately, the people in my corner that have helped me – teammates and coaches and manager and stuff – have helped me build out this structure to where I'm meeting at this point when I'm supposed to meet at this point. And I believe I'm ready now.”
Colgan fought twice in the LFA in quick order in 2021 and won his first two fights by knockout. He signed with Bellator and rose up quickly with knockout wins. When the competition turned to names with plenty more experience, like Emmanuel Sanchez, Pieter Buist and Thibault Gouti, he wasn’t putting them away – but he was outworking them without much resistance.
When he transitioned to the PFL, he’s remained a heavy favorite in fights and wins over Mansour Barnaoui and Jay Jay Wilson, the latter of which came this past October and helped the promotional brass see Colgan was ready to be in contention. And now, after Nurmagomedov’s latest title win over Alfie Davis in February, he’ll be tested by Colgan.
The idea of Nurmagomedov’s Dagestani wrestling against the American wrestling style Colgan brings has made for a potentially intriguing fight. But Colgan said he’s not going to overanalyze things.
“I just want to win an MMA fight,” Colgan said. “It's not like I have this goal that I have to go out there and outwrestle him, (or) I have this goal that I have to go out there and outstrike him. I have to beat him in an MMA fight. That's everything mixed together. That's who can do that the best, who can mix in the wrestling and the striking and defend each other's stuff while implementing their own the best. That's all I'm interested in doing. I'm not interested in trying to not ever get taken down and only get my takedowns and just win wrestling and then end up losing a fight, or just try to focus on striking (and) end up losing a fight.
"I'm trying to win this MMA fight. It's going to have to be all of it, but I'm not focused on just trying to win certain segments.”
Regardless of how it plays out come fight night, in the next couple months of prep work and camp, Colgan knows he’ll be gearing up for not just a title fight, but one with some extra juice behind it thanks to the champion’s family pedigree.
And Colgan said it would be crazy to not expect him to be extra amped at the thought of not only handing a Nurmagomedov his first loss, but taking a title from him at the same time.
“I mean, 100 percent, that's the whole goal of wanting to challenge somebody who's been champion like he has, and who carries the name that he carries and and the reputation that comes with it.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: For Archie Colgan, PFL title shot feels like just the right time
Continue reading...
