Following his release from the UFC in 2015, welterweight David Michaud spent nearly a year trying to get back into MMA. Finally this past April, Michaud was able to return, picking up a first round submission of Chris Hugh at RFA 37 in April.
“It had been a while since my last fight – almost a year – and some people are worried about ring rust and this and that, but I’d been training hard for 10 months trying to get a fight, so I wasn’t worried about it,” Michaud told MMAWeekly.com.
“I was able to get in, get the victory, and not get hit or anything, so I felt good about it. (Hugh) is a tough guy, but I didn’t feel like he was on my level, so I went in and did what I needed to do to win the fight.”
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While he’s frustrated it took him a year to get a fight in, Michaud used his time off wisely and reinvigorated his game by going back to what made him successful before.
“I’m trying to get back to being more aggressive and moving forward more,” said Michaud. “I felt like in my last couple fights before, I’d kind of been worried about being tired or being worn down, but we worked on getting back to how I used to fight – moving forward and going for the finish at all times.”
Michaud (9-2) will seek to keep his winning ways going when he takes on Dhiego Lima (11-4) in a main card welterweight bout at Titan FC 39 in Coral Gables, Fla., on Friday.
“Actually, when (Lima) got signed, I was talking to my manager about getting this fight, because it would do a lot of good for my career, and the next day it came true,” Michaud said. “It’s one of the bigger fights out there right now.
“Obviously, he’s got some reach, he’s really tall, and I’m average height, so he’ll have that length, but I think my strength, speed and athleticism will get me inside his reach, and I’ll be able to use my power.”
Whether he can get a shot at the UFC with a win over Lima or not, Michaud is willing to do whatever it takes to get him back into the company in 2016.
“The goal is always to get back to the UFC,” said Michaud. “I hope this puts me back in, if not, then hopefully a (Titan) title fight against (Belal) Muhammed looks pretty good. I have to fight him then I’ll go out there and beat him too.
“It’s always the goal to get signed to the big show, but right now my mind is on Dhiego and going in there and chewing him up and spitting him out, and then go from there.”
