Caution: a title shot may be closer than it appears.
Farid Basharat may not have a number next to his name, but that’s his take on where he fits into the UFC bantamweight title picture.
Less than three weeks removed from his UFC 320 win over Chris Gutierrez, Basharat (14-0 MMA, 5-0 UFC) admits he thought his fifth promotional victory in as many outings would be enough to earn a ranking. But he’s confident regardless his next opponent will have one that he can steal.
“I’m already having these conversations with my manager, Ali (Abdelaziz),” Basharat recently told MMA Junkie Radio. “I’ve rang him up a couple times already. For me, it’s the top 15. I want the top 15. I was hoping to get ranked after that last one, but it is what it is.”
One contributing factor to a quick ascent from unranked to title contender, Basharat predicts, is current champion Merab Dvalishvili’s domination. If he continues to wipe out the division, Basharat theorizes more and more fresh faces will be needed.
“I truly believe the title picture is not too far away, especially the way Merab is taking care of everybody at the top,” Basharat said. “At some point, they’re going to need new blood, be it three fights or five, six, seven, eight fights. I don’t care how much it is. I’m going to keep knocking on the door. I’m going to keep winning.”
Basharat is taking things step by step, however. His next focus, he hopes, will be someone in the No. 12-15 range in the UFC rankings.
“Who I want is top 15,” Basharat said. “Fifteen I think is Montel Jackson. Fourteen is Kyler Phillips. Thirteen is Vinicius (Oliveira). Twelve is David Martinez. So I’ll take any of those guys. I feel so confident. I’d even go higher, but I think most of the other guys, (Henry) Cejudo and stuff, are booked now. But I’d take the highest ranked guy.”
Whether now or later, Basharat thinks his skills will be elite enough to take on the division’s top dogs. He’s trained with Dvalishvili (21-4 MMA, 14-2 UFC) in the past and knows what competing against the best feels like.
“Absolutely, I feel like I’m 100 percent there,” Basharat said. “One-hundred percent. This is not coming from a point of arrogance. It’s really just coming from confidence. First of all, look at my resume. I have the third-longest winning streak in bantamweight. … I’m undefeated. I’m young and I’m at an age where I’m coming into my prime. I’m still probably a couple years away from my prime. But I’ve matured so much. I’m training with the best, as far as teammates and coaches go. Experience isn’t as much of a factor as say, it was early in my career. That was probably the one thing people could hold against me.
“I’m just really feeling myself. I just know I’m making the improvements. By the time I do get to the title picture, it’ll be another three or four fights, I reckon. Realistically speaking, can you imagine how much better I’ll be after that? So right now, I feel good enough to mix it up with the top five. One-hundred percent, I believe this. By the time I actually do get there, I think I’m going to be so confident. I absolutely feel I’m ready for the top.”
