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Monday, Aug 25, 2014

WSOF’s Elvis Mutapcic Weighs in on Latest Victory, Striker Reputation, and Next Opponent

Elvis Mutapcic (left) attacking Kelvin Tiller (photo via WSOF)

By Kelsey Mowatt

Elvis Mutapcic got back on track at World Series of Fighting 12 recently, but “The King” did so in a fashion that he’s not typically known for.

Anyone that has followed the career of Mutapcic knows that he’s risen up the middleweight ranks in large part due to his striking skills, but versus Kelvin Tiller on August 9th, it was his top game that got the job done.

“You know, that’s the thing, people always say ‘he’s a striker, he’s a striker’. Ya, I’m a striker, but it’s MMA; you have to be able to do everything,” Mutapcic noted on a recent episode of Full Contact Fighter Radio, while discussing his unanimous decision win over Tiller. “I always had a pretty decent top game, but I wasn’t able to show that much when I fought (Jesse) Taylor, but Taylor’s a great wrestler.”

“I just took what he gave me,” Mutapcic added about the Tiller fight, which marked the first time in 7 pro bouts the latter was defeated. “When he took me down I realized his ground game wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. I guess it’s always good to overestimate somebody than underestimate them, and once I got the body lock on him in the first round, I knew he wasn’t going to be able to stop my takedowns.”

Elvis Mutapcic elbowing Kelvin Tiller (photo via WSOF / NBC)

 

Mutapcic is referring to the decision loss he incurred versus Taylor last December, which saw the latter utilize his noted wrestling skills and score a decision victory. Since then, the 28 year-old has continued to work on his wrestling abilities, as a means to enhance his game both offensively and defensively.

“I always worked on it,” said Mutapcic, when asked if he’s spent more time training on his wrestling following his loss to Taylor. “That’s the thing. I just never went out and executed it. I always had takedowns, but after the fight I decided that I just need more urgency to do everything. That was the main factor with it.”

“I was always explosive and athletic enough to get away with stopping very good wrestler’s takedowns, but when I came across a very elite wrestler, I was stuck on my back for the majority of three rounds,” added Mutapcic. “So that was definitely a thing I wanted to incorporate and start getting more experience at it….I don’t have crazy reach, so the elite guys with a long reach are hard to get into. So you have to make them think about a takedown so that you can strike.”

The victory over Tiller was Mutpacic’s first with WSOF, and extended his pro record to 14-3. Up next, Mutapcic says he’s still interested in fighting Krasimir Mladenov, who he was booked to fight at WSOF 12 before the latter got injured. Failing that, the Iowa resident also expressed an interest in facing the following established vet.

“I’ve always said since (Danillo) Villefort joined World Series of Fighting, that you know what? That would be an exciting fight,” said Mutapcic. “Both of those fights would be exciting for the fans. I feel like Villefort would be a very exciting fight for the fans. I think we’re matched up really good against each other, and he’s a black belt in jiu-jitsu. I haven’t fought a black belt yet so I’d like to get that under my belt.”

 

posted by FCF Staff @ 7:00 am
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