Lopez? He’s a lazy flyweight, he should wrestle more there. The fighters in our division are sculpted, but he’s not, Magard griped

Jonas Magard is looking to take back the bantamweight title after his recovery. The interim title is currently held by Gustavo Silva, who ran over Filip Mack as a replacement for the injured Dane at the end of last year. What did Magard say about him?

Jonas Magard was supposed to have a rematch with Filip Mack at the end of last year, whom he defeated in the opening bout without much trouble. Unfortunately, a jaw injury kept him out of the fight.

UFC veteran Gustavo Silva was given the chance and he took it and currently holds the interim bantamweight belt. Magard, however, is training hard to be considered the champion of his weight class

“Of course I’m only sparring with pads anymore, I make sure my partners have them too. It was a costly experience for me, but I learned from it. Everything happens for a reason, and now I’m going to have a better match and opponent. I’m looking forward to it,” he said on MMA Flight of the World.

He gave Silva a hard time at the pre-tournament press conference in Ostrava, referring mainly to his physical condition. However, the Dane said he is currently in a better shape.

“He’s a lazy flyweight, he should fight more there. The wrestlers in our division are sculpted, but he is not. On the other hand, from what I’ve seen, he’s in much better shape now. And that’s a good thing. I want him to be in the best shape of his life. I want him to be the strongest possible version of Gustavo Lopez,” he added.

The thirty-three year old American currently has a 13::6::1 streak in MMA and was last seen in the UFC in the summer of 2021, when he scored a draw in a fight with Heili Alateng. So his goal in a matchup with Magarde is clear.

“Gustavo’s plan is to move back to the UFC after his fight with me. That’s why he knows he just has to step in. Of course, it would be much easier for me to go against Lima, who is nowhere near his quality.

But I want the best, I want to beat Lopez. I have a feeling I’ll face Lima afterwards, but he has to earn it first. Nobody knows him yet,” finished the plain-spoken Dane.

Source: Octagon MMA, MMA Around the World