UFC 128 Victory Puts Mike Pyle Back In The Welterweight Running

Mike Pyle at UFC 128

After his win at UFC 128 this past weekend, welterweight Mike Pyle is on a three-fight winning streak, but he still feels he can improve.

“I guess I’m about 80-percent happy with my performance,” he said of his unanimous decision victory over Ricardo Almeida. “I figured the pace of the fight would go the way it would. I trained hard to shut down his wrestling; which I did.

“I would have liked for my striking to be a bit more damaging. But I guess you can’t have your cake and eat it too.”

As for where he sees himself in the 170-pound weight class with his recent success, Pyle told MMAWeekly.com, “All I can say is, that’s three in a row and I want to continue to keep winning.

“Whatever the UFC has in store for me, I’m willing and ready for the challenge.”

Pyle credits his recent winning to the fact that he’s managed to add the psychological game to his already outstanding physical abilities.

“I’m just getting comfortable in the UFC,” commented Pyle. “It took me a little bit more to get the jitters out and extra time to get my mental preparation and mental training and things like that I was lacking.

“Once I picked that up, it began to show in the fights. I’m able to show what a talented fighter I am. I’m thankful that I’m finally starting to come into my full potential.”

Pyle admits at times he may have gotten too lost in his jiu-jitsu training and neglected parts of his game he needed to improve to be a more successful fighter.

Of late, he’s worked hard to fix that and with his striking in particular he feels he’s become that much better.

“If you can’t take a wrestler down, what can you do?” he asked. “You’ve got to out-strike them. Basically what it came down to, I had to evolve with the sport, which I’ve done.”

He’s also worked hard to develop the kind of diet, with the help of one of the sport’s premier coaches, a fighter at this level needs.

“I listen to my body and am doing the things I need to do such as hiring Mike Dolce of DolceDiet.com to put the right fuel back in my body so I can continue on with the hard weeks,” said Pyle. “It was one of the best moves I could have made to bring in Mike.

“It was very critical in my fight, because cardio was great and going into the third round it felt like it was the first. I was fresh, I was moving around, and was able to put on a dominating performance in the third. I’m very happy with the moves I’ve made in my training of late.”

Many felt Pyle was one of the best fighters not in the UFC before he entered the company, and after a brief stumble when he first arrived, he’s put himself on track to become one of the welterweight division’s premier fighters once again.

“I want to thank all my fans and Twitter followers (@Mike_Pyle); they gave me a lot of support leading up to the fight,” he concluded. “I want to thank all my teammates at Xtreme Couture, and all my sponsors. I appreciate everything they’ve done for me.

“I don’t want to look too far ahead and fall off the bike. I know what I’m capable of doing and that’s what I’m focused on.”