Luis Gurule (10-0 MMA) earned his UFC contract with a split decision win over Nick Piccininni (7-1 MMA) on the Contender Series on Oct. 15.
Gurule, a week later, said the reality of it all is just setting in.
“It was a pretty crazy week,” Gurule told MMASucka. “I’m super pumped and super happy about it. It finally settled in that I’m a UFC flyweight. Finally. It seems like it’s been a long journey, so I’m just really happy that everything worked out the way it did.”
Gurule went the distance with Piccininni in their flyweight contest, less than two months after Piccininni was on the right side of a split decision against Jack Duffy. Only the UFC did not award Piccininni a contract then.
Gurule said it was a close fight, but he “definitely” felt like he did the most damage.
“I had the most significant strikes in a flyweight fight on the Contender Series, which was pretty cool,” Gurule said. “I felt like I was hurting him with everything I was landing. He put me in two bad positions off takedowns, but I felt like I really showed the difference between us on the feet, and I think that’s what gave me the win.”
Gurule said he was a “little nervous” after getting his hand raised, unsure of whether UFC CEO Dana White would award him a UFC contract.
“You just never know. You saw what happened with Piccininni his last fight where I’m sure he thought was going to get a contract, and they’re like, ‘Nah, maybe not.’ Something similar happened to [Julieta Martinez] who won a badass fight, so I was a little nervous. I was like, ‘Oh man.’ My coaches were incredibly sure. I was the only one who was nervous. It was great hearing Dana, and hearing what he had to say about the fight was awesome. He really respected that I went out there on such short notice and put it all on the line. It was a crazy experience. It was awesome. It was awesome to go through all of that.”
Gurule took the fight on seven days’ notice and capitalized on it, and now he is the newest member of the UFC’s flyweight division.
“Grim” said he does not have a specific opponent or date in mind yet, but he said he will stay ready, like he always does, and be ready for anyone.
“Throughout my career, I’ve never said no to a fight,” he said. “I’ve always fought the toughest that was out there just to prove I was the best flyweight out there, and I’m gonna do the same thing in the UFC. It doesn’t matter to me. If I want to be the best, I’m going to have to go through the best, and I’m going to have to beat them. I’m going to have to prove I’m up there with them … I have complete faith in my training partners like [Brandon] Royval and [Alexander] Hernandez and my coaches that we’re going to be ready when the time comes.”
Gurule had his first amateur MMA fight in October 2021 and debuted professionally in June 2022. Gurule had hoped to be in the UFC by the end of 2023, but he still reached the promotion just three years after starting to compete in the sport.
Now, he hopes to capture UFC gold within three years.
“I’ll give myself the same timetable I had when I started fighting. I said I’ll give myself three or four years [to reach the UFC]. We did it before the fourth year. I’m hoping within three [years]. If I fight four times a year, I’d say we’re pretty right on track to fight for UFC gold.”
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