Emil ‘Valhalla’ Weber Meek (9-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) takes on newcomer Bartosz Fabinski on the preliminary card of UFC Hamburg this weekend.
Meek entered the UFC with a lot of hype by dismantling UFC veteran Rousimar Palhares. He lived up to that hype by defeating veteran Jordan Mein on his debut at UFC 206. Meek however faced a stern challenge which no other UFC fighter might have ever faced in #10 ranked Kamaru Usman. Usman used his grappling superiority to defeat Meek via unanimous decision.
Fabinski also has a grappling forte, hence Meek says takedowns defense has been the number one priority of his camp. To rectify his mistakes, he’s working with the last person who defeated him, Kamaru Usman.
“Absolutely. Me and Johnny Nunes work a lot on the wrestling defense. Same with Kevin Lee and Kamaru Usman. Just trying to get a little better at it. That’s a part of the game I want to get better at, and I like it too. I think it’s fun. Small technical aspects have made a huge difference.”
Meek is now seeking the services of UFC’s Performance Institute and feels to be ‘treated as a professional’ there.
” It’s been great. It’s that general feeling of being treated as a professional. Being able to train like you should. I have handpicked my training guys, my coaches and the staff at the PI ask me what I want to improve on. All of that stuff comes together and feels like a complete team. There is no wasted training.”
Meek concluded saying he has taken his last loss in stride and has got better since then.
” I learned that I belong in the top of the world. I left the Octagon feeling that I could have given more. I remember when the fight ended I was upset because I felt like I had more. Give up something to gain something. If you have more to give then just f*****g give it.”
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