SAN DIEGO – Devin Clark has been in the MMA game for a minute, so the days of him taking cornermen with him everywhere he goes during fight week are long gone.
But Wednesday, Clark (13-6 MMA, 7-6 UFC) pushed the button for the elevator in the UFC’s host hotel in San Diego, and waiting for him when the door opened was his Saturday opponent, Azamat Murzakanov (11-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), and Murzakanov’s cornermen.
Clark said it wasn’t so much awkward as it was a signal to him that Murzakanov might be ready to throw down when the two light heavyweights step into the cage on the main card at at UFC on ESPN 41.
“He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to, either,” Clark said of the encounter during Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 41 media day. “I get in the elevator, and he’s in there with his team – three of them. I get in there, and he’s in the middle, so he’s behind me. We’re on the 10th floor and we’re going down, and I see behind me he’s moving back and forth and getting all giddy and getting ready. I had to turn around like, ‘Bro, we’re good – we’re not fighting till Saturday.’ But I could tell he was excited and he wants to rip my head off right now.”
Clark will be going after his second straight win after a third-round TKO win over William Knight at heavyweight in April snapped a two-fight skid. His opponent is unbeaten, but also never has experienced a UFC fight in front of fans before.
Check out Clark’s full media day interview in the video above ahead of UFC on ESPN 41 at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 41.
