Devin Clark knows he could be fighting for his job on Saturday night at UFC Vegas 86.
Clark hasn’t fought since May of last year when he suffered a submission loss to Kennedy Nzechukwu. After that, he was hoping to fight one more time in 2023, but he decided to spend time with his family and get his mindset right for his next fight.
“Just scheduling conflicts. I could have fought in the fall and ended up going to Disneyland with my family instead which proved to be a good decision. I needed a little bit of a break to readjust and reevaluate some things and just get better. Obviously, the last one didn’t go my way,” Clark said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com.
Once Devin Clark was ready to return he was booked to fight Marcin Prachnio at UFC Vegas 86. With nearly a year off, Clark feels more than ready to go, especially with this being the last fight on his deal.
“I’m feeling ready for it now and we will see where 2024 gets us. I’m looking to get a new contract, get some wins, kind of establish myself again, and not just be a gatekeeper type of guy. Also, keep my job,” Clark said. “That is one of the realities of this fight, this is my fourth fight on this contract and contracts aren’t guaranteed you have to earn them, so I’m in a good spot to earn that contract and keep fighting in the UFC.”
Although Clark is on the last fight of his deal, he says that doesn’t add any pressure on himself. Instead, he feels it will free him to just focus on the fight at hand and not what is next.
“I mean it could, it also takes a little bit off of it. All you have to do is fight, you aren’t worrying about the next fight, the reality of it is, just go out there and fight. That is what I’m good at,” Clark said.
With Devin Clark expecting to fight more freely, he feels confident he will be able to use his wrestling to control Marcin Prachnio and get a one-sided win.
“Definitely me getting my hand raised, whether it’s that be a knockout or a good decision, definitely a dominant one. Some aggression for sure and a hell of a fight, the fans will be impressed,” Clark added.
Should Clark get his hand raised on Saturday at UFC Vegas 86, he hopes he can sign a new deal with the UFC and start to work his way to the light heavyweight rankings.
“I don’t care where it does for me in the rankings right now. I know I can fight anybody who is in the top-15. I’ve fought a lot of them and some of them have been pretty good fights, and others I just got caught. I know with the right game plan I can win a lot of these fights. Just win this one and get anyone someone in the top 15,” Clark concluded.
