Interview with Zack Makovsky ahead of his fight in ACB 60 tournament

Interview with Zack Makovsky ahead of his fight in ACB 60 tournament

Zach ‘Fun Size’ Makovsky makes his ACB debut this Saturday at ACB 60 in Vienna. Ahead of his fight with Josiel Silva he spoke with our play-by-play commentator Bryan Lacey to give him his thoughts on the fight and on joining ACB.

Bryan: Firstly, welcome to ACB. We are very excited to have you as part of our flyweight division. Before you signed to join ACB what did you know about the promotion?

Zach: I didn’t know a lot, I had see a couple of fights so I didn’t know a lot but everything I had heard had been good.

Bryan: So what was it that drew you to sign with ACB rather than any other promotions?

Zach: I was really looking to get the best possible deal I could get after the UFC didn’t renew my contract – To be honest, besides the UFC in the United States, there’s not really a big flyweight division anywhere so the primary organizations I was talking with were ACB, Fight Night Global and RIZIN and they were the ones who made good offers and from the looks of it they are the ones that are looking to grow and showcase this weight class. ACB gave me the best offer without question so it was actually an easy decision. 

Bryan: Your teammate GSP was with us for our event last month in Moscow, did he tell you anything about being at the ACB event and what he thought of the promotion?

Zach: Yeah, he said it was a great show! I’ve told him that if I get to go and fight in Russia I’m going to bring him to. We’ll have to see. I know the result of the fight he was out there wasn’t what he wanted but he said very good things about the trip, about the show and about Russia.

Bryan: With this being your first fight out of the UFC has this training camp felt any different? Is there any extra pressure on this fight?

Zach: No, I definitely get anxious for my fights but every fight I’ve had through out my entire career in any organization has pretty much felt exactly the same. It doesn’t matter to me where I’m fighting. Every fight is important to me and I need to try to have my best performance at each fight so that’s what I’m focused on.

Bryan: This fight takes place in Vienna in Europe. Have you ever competed in Europe before? Have you ever been to Vienna?

Zach: I competed in a grappling tournament in Poland once but I’ve never been to Vienna. That the only time I’ve ever been to Europe actually.

Bryan: Makovsky sounds like a Russian name, what’s the heritage behind it? 

Zach: Czechoslovakian actually but I haven’t been there or to Russia. I’m looking forward to going though for sure.

Bryan: Did you know much about your opponent Josiel Silva before this fight?

Zach: No, I hadn’t really heard of him and to be honest I still don’t really know much about him. I can only find about 3 minutes of footage and some general stats off his record so that’s a little bit unique for me. I haven’t had a situation where I don’t have much information on my opponent for a long time, since way back to my early days in fighting.

Bryan: And what did you pick up from that little bit of footage and information that you did get?

Zach: I think he’s a brown belt in jiu jitsu but I haven’t really seen much grappling showcased in the footage I’ve seen. He looks like a pretty relaxed and calm striker, gets in there, sets his rhythm and picks his shots. He does have a lot of TKO’s so I’m guessing he does have some power. I think he’s pretty tall for the weight class and that’s about it. I think he does have good striking but from what I’ve seen it’s pretty basic.

Bryan: When did you start the camp for this fight?

Zach: I’ve been in camp officially for 6 weeks but I took a trip at the end of March, beginning of April to help my former opponent and now friend, Wilson Reis, prepare for his title fight against Demetrious Johnson. So I was there for 2 weeks just working with him and then pretty much when I got back from San Diego this fight was confirmed so I got straight into camp. 

Bryan: And who have been your main training and sparring partners for this one?

Zach: We’ve got a lot of good guys over here. I’m always working with Joanne Calderwood, Aiemann Zahabi and the regular Tri Star crew.

Bryan: Who will be making the trip from Tri Star to corner you for this fight?

Zach: My corner will be Aiemann Zahabi also Mandel Nallo, he’s a lightweight fighter and another young up-and-coming guy. He’s incredible! He’s undefeated and I think ACB should definitely take a look at him for their lightweight division. One of the best guys in the gym without question. I also trying to work on getting Phil Nurse out for the trip but that one isn’t 100%.

Bryan: Now you’re a member of our flyweight division have you had chance to look at the fighters in it? What are your thoughts on the division as a whole?

Zach: Yeah it’s good. I saw the title fight between Askarov and Anthony Leone. I fought Leone earlier in my career in Bellator, he beat me in a split decision over 5 years ago. Askarov looked very impressive, I’m very impressed from what I’ve seen of him so far and from what I’ve seen ACB seem to be adding a bunch of talent across the roster and specifically in the flyweight division so I’m excited. 
I saw Sherbatov just got signed and he’s another quality guy so it’s looking good. I’m excited! 

Bryan: So how do you see yourself matching up against the champion Askarov?

Zach: I think good, I mean I think I have a skill level and the experience to fight with anybody in the world so I’m pretty confident that I would do very well and I look forward to testing myself against the young up-and-comers ACB have on their roster. 

Bryan: Finally, do you have a message for the ACB fans ahead of your debut on Saturday?

Zach: I’m happy to be here and excited to put on a show and fight hard for you guys!

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