When you look at the first five fights of Ramiz Brahimaj’s UFC career, it’s not much to write home about. He had alternated wins and losses en route to a 2-3 record and it looked like he needed a change.
He found that change when he moved to Chicago. After keeping camp close to home for years, he and Mike Valle headed north to the Valle Flow Striking (VFS) Academy. That’s a change he believes has made a difference.
“I would say, I don’t think I was in the environment that I necessarily needed to be in, right? So I know that making a change and going outside the realm of comfort and doing everything that I, essentially, you know, I wanted to do, but I kind of was, it was like a missing link,” Brahmiaj explained. “So when I look at it from that perspective and see where I am today, I definitely think that was the element of change that was necessary to do what I’m doing now.”
For Brahimaj, that change was quite immediate. The very first camp he did with VFS, he saw the impact.
“When I took the first step, it was against Mickey Gall, that whole training camp I was doing it outside from, you know, my home base in Texas,” he said.And it was tough, you know, it was such a big change, such a drastic change. But it certainly paid off. I don’t always look forward to coming to Chicago and occasionally traveling around for training, bJust to see how it has improved my career and it has given me such a broad spectrum of training.”
While results in the cage have improved – Brahimaj has also recorded three straight finishes with two bonuses – that’s not all. The change from Texas to Chicago has given him a better outlook on both sports and life. Now he’s ready to show the world what the best version of Ramiz looks like.
“Honestly, it feels like it has strengthened my quality of education, of life, my view on fighting and such. So it was definitely necessary,” Brahimaj said. “I don’t regret it in that regard, man. I wish I would have done it a little younger because I feel like I have so much to show to the fight world and to fight fans that I still haven’t even shown.
His next chance to show that comes next Saturday in Texas. He takes on fellow welterweight, Punahele Soriano.
“Every time I fight, I always plan to dominate. That’s it. If it has to be bell to bell, if it has to be within the distance, if it’s the first round, second round, third round, or if I have a clean sweep, all the judges score cards,” he said. “That’s the biggest change in my mind and I’ve made a decision. Whatever the outcome, the outcome will still be me raising my hand.”
You can watch his fight with Soriano as part of the UFC Houston prelims. The fight card kicks off this Saturday at 5pm EST and airs on Paramount+.
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