Returning from hiatus following a serious knee injury, welterweight submission ace Dustin Hazelett was supposed to make his return on the main card of UFC 106 against Karo Parisyan last month. Unfortunately for “McLovin,” as Hazelett is known, Parisyan pulled out at the last minute, stranding Hazelett without an opponent the night before the event. While that situation might have been a difficult pill to swallow, Hazelett is confident that the added time off will work to his advantage when he takes on British striker Paul Daley in the co-featured bout of UFC 108, which kicks off Saturday, January 2 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Tapology’s Steven Kelliher recently caught up with Hazelett to discuss his thoughts on the cancellation of his last fight, his advantages over Paul Daley, and how he sees the first fight of his 2010 campaign going.
Tapology: I wanted to start with the bad news. Following the cancellation of your scheduled UFC 106 fight with Karo Parisyan last month, what was your emotional reaction?
Hazelett: It was obviously very disappointing and a bad situation. When you put in all of that work, the pay-off is to fight; for me it’s not about the money. I was actually surprised at how calm I was when the new came out and so was everyone who knows me, but I believe in God’s plan and I knew something else would come up.
Tapology: Did Joe Silva let you know that he was going to be looking to get you on a card as soon as he could?
Hazelett: Yeah, the UFC was great about the whole situation. It’s great to work for a company like that and they definitely did everything they could to make it as good of an experience for me as possible. Joe Silva let me know that he was going to try to get me back in soon so I stayed in shape.
Tapology: Did you take any time off following the fights?
Hazelett: Yeah, I took about a week off to rest my body to recharge. Mentally I was hungry the whole time to fight still.
Tapology: On a physical level, do you think the extra time off might have been beneficial to you?
Hazelett: I’m sure that it does help. I feel more prepared for this fight than I did for my last fight, so I think the extra time definitely helped. I wasn’t worried about my knee, but it can’t hurt.
Tapology: Have you paid any attention to the injuries that have plagued the UFC 108 card?
Hazelett: I just try to focus on my fight and don’t really pay attention to what goes on besides that. It doesn’t bother me.
Tapology: Moving onto your opponent, Paul Daley is obviously a well-respected striker, but overall do you feel he is a better or worse match-up for you than Parisyan was?
Hazelett: I think that he might be a better match-up for me in the sense that Parisyan was a very experienced grappler. I’m going to have a bigger advantage on the ground in this fight, but he is also a much better striker than Parisyan was. It’s just different because of the style he presents.
Tapology: Are you looking to make a statement by standing with Daley or is this one yours to be won on the ground?
Hazelett: I take fights as they come. I don’t really like to put too much into a defined strategy. I like to see what my opponent gives me, but I have been working very hard on my stand-up, so I think fighting someone like Daley is a really good test for me. If I can test myself against him it will let me know where I stand among the strikers in the welterweight division.
Tapology: You are one of the most lengthy fighters in the weight class. Do you think you continue to grow more comfortable with utilizing that range to your advantage as you get older?
Hazelett: I am definitely becoming more confident in my striking ability and using my build more. I have been working with Dorian Price for my Muay Thai, and he has been helping me out a lot.
Tapology: Have you watched a lot of tape on Daley?
Hazelett: I watch the tapes, but I don’t like to overanalyze them. I think if you watch them too much you’ll over-think things and expect too much. People can change their style in between fights, so that is something that is hard to account for on the fly.
Tapology: His debut was a big upset over Martin Kampmann. Do you think that Kampmann made any specific mistakes in that fight that you will try to avoid?
Hazelett: I think that he tried to out-box him. He didn’t use his full arsenal of weapons, so I think that was a strategic mistake that made the fight a lot harder for him than it had to be.
Tapology: At the end of the day what advantages do you have over Daley and what is going to put you on top in this fight?
Hazelett: Most of his losses have come by way of submission and that is my strong suit, so that’s where my advantage will be. If I can get a win here, it will propel me up the rankings quite a bit.
Tapology: Thanks for the time and good luck.
Hazelett: Thanks.
