When the UFC sent out the casting call for flyweights last season, Christian Natividad was initially interested. However, after talking to his coaches and management about it, they decided to wait for the summer and a shot at Dana White’s Contender Series. Unfortunately for him, that call simply never came.
With some reflection, Natividad has faced reality and is prepared to do something about it.
“I’m honestly quite disappointed that I didn’t get called up for the contenders [Series]but i know the reason. Even though I have a seven-fight win streak as a professional, I need some more finishes,” said Natividad. “I need to show a little more aggression in these fights. People love to see me fight, you know I have a violent style, but I just have to block these people out.
While some fighters talk about fighting differently, Natividad decided to make it happen. He hopes that a camp switch between the cities will spark something in him.
“Pretty much my entire career I’m not just a competitor. I’m a winner, but it’s also about the way you win and that’s a new focus I have here now,” he said. “I’m actually just switching camps. I switched to the [MMA] Lab here and I’m here in Phoenix. I hope that with this change I can make some changes and adjustments to my fighting style.
The change of working with John Crouch is not one he takes lightly. He acknowledges that he had a good run at Fight Ready MMA, but sometimes we just need to shake things up a bit.
“I just needed a change and it’s nothing against the coaches at Fight Ready, nothing against the teammates at Fight Ready. I love all those guys, they’re great coaches, great teammates and I love the culture there,” Natividad said. “I just needed a switch. I had five fights as a pro with Fight Ready and it just didn’t get me the call I needed, and again it’s nothing against them. I just needed something different.”
Now that the LFA 220 is upon us, it’s time for the fruits of this work to pay off. Although he hasn’t been great at predictions in the past, Natividad knows what he needs here.
“I got a lot of my predictions wrong,” he said, laughing. “I was right in the sense that I win the fight because every time I made a prediction I won all those fights, but let’s finish this guy.”
That’s exactly what he gets at LFA 220 in the co-main event against Jostin Quilca. The fight card starts at 8:30 PM and airs on UFC Fight Pass.
You can hear the full audio of this interview on the latest episode of Top Turtle MMA. The interview will be broadcast at 9:18 PM.
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