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Michel Prazeres forced back to 170 pounds for UFC Chile, but still plans on returning to lightweight

It’s been a slightly less pained week for Michel Prazeres, who returns to the welterweight division at UFC Fight Night 129 this Saturday after repeatedly failing to hit the lightweight mark.

But Prazeres still wants to go back to his previous division.

Prazeres (24-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC), who’s set to meet Zak Cummings (21-5 MMA, 6-2 UFC) in an FS2-televised preliminary card bout at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile, has made his way back to the weight class in which he made his octagon debut back in 2013.

The move followed a meeting with Desmond Green at UFC Fight Night 125 in February. Although Prazeres beat Green, making it six wins in a row, he missed weight by five pounds. In light of what was Prazeres’ third miss in four fights, the commission immediately announced “Trator” would be forced to move up a weight class.

Prazeres tipped the scale at 170 pounds this morning in Chile. And while that descent still wasn’t an easy task, Prazeres told MMAjunkie two days prior to the weigh-ins, it was certainly easier than hitting 156.

Still, the 5-foot-7 fighter is still hoping that it’s only temporary.

“I will try to return to lightweight because this division is too big for me,” Prazeres said. “I think I have much more of a future within the lightweights.”

Prazeres says he is now working closely with a sports nutritionist, looking to show that he can safely can get back down. If that’s not possible, though, he’ll make the best of what he’s got in the new weight and will continue on his task of building up muscle mass.

In any case, he says he’s not intimidated by the size difference that he has to deal with in Cummings. Having trained with opponents who are as big and strong as his opponent, he says he’s done the work at the gym, especially in his standup, to make up for any possible disparities.

“He’s a very tough guy – in the UFC, everyone is very tough,” Prazeres said. “He strikes well. He’s a Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt. He does everything reasonably well. My game is similar to his, and I’m a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, but I’m a more competitive guy. The goal is to take him down and see how it goes on the ground.”

There’s a bit of an interesting situation whenever a fighter finds themselves in a new division. In Prazeres’ case, while he has put together a solid winning streak, this will technically only be his second UFC showing as a welterweight – his first, against Paulo Thiago, ended in a decision loss.

When that comes to, say, title shots, this is an argument that could be used against him by contenders who’ve been in the division longer. One person who isn’t too concerned with that, though, is Prazeres.

“It’s always a fresh start for me,” Prazeres said. “Each fight is a fight. I don’t look at my wins at lightweight, but hopefully I’ll have the same success in this new division.”

This play-it-by-ear strategy isn’t at all surprising when you’ve talked to Prazeres enough times. Despite his results, the Brazilian police officer has always been somewhat of a quiet presence, having yet to break into the UFC’s rankings or to be called out by his peers.

Prazeres, however, remains unfazed by all of that. Even if he does pull it off on Saturday, which would make for a certainly impressive seven-fight winning streak, he says he’ll gladly wait and take on whatever – or whomever – the UFC has in store for him.

“I wait for the UFC to choose and put the challenge in front of me,” Prazeres said. “God knows where he’s putting me. It’s another obstacle that I have to overcome in my career and I’m certainly very happy to be doing what I love.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 129, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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