LAS VEGAS – Jamal Pogues will return to his original home and already has his eyes on the top UFC light heavyweights.
Pogues (9-3) punched his ticket to the UFC by defeating Paulo Renato Jr. by unanimous decision at Dana White’s Contender Series 49 at the UFC Apex on Tuesday.
The bout took place at heavyweight, but Pogues will return to light heavyweight, where the majority of his professional bouts have taken place.
“It’s time for me to get down to 205, my original weight class,” Pogues told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the post-fight news conference. “That’s No. 1. When I came back, I was like 275 (pounds), almost 280. So coming back, I was trying to get in the best shape as I could. Obviously, I dropped a lot of weight compared to what I was. But working my way back down to 205 and fighting in the light heavyweight division, there are guys that I know are in the top 10 that I want to fight.”
Pogues went right after the division’s top contenders. He jokingly called out Jamahal Hill for having the same first name as him, but has two other names in mind that he’d like to fight.
“I want Paul Craig. I like his jiu-jitsu, and they made a mistake: I’m actually a black belt,” Pogues said. “I’m a really good f*cking black belt. But I’ve beat some good people.
“It’s going to piss a lot of people off because he’s from my old gym. He’s from my hometown. I want Dominick Reyes. It’s nothing against Dominick Reyes – we used to be training partners. He’s never done anything to me, but I just feel like if we’re going to say who’s going to be the best out of the high desert, Victorville (Calif.), Apple Valley, all of that, it’s me – and a lot of people know that. So he can see this and take it the wrong way and think I’m talking sh*t about him – I’m not. Me and Dominick are cool. But sooner or later, I was going to be in the UFC.”
