Sam Sicilia is a goal-driven person. He sets goals; he writes them down and works hard to achieve them. Over the weekend, Sicilia unfortunately failed to pick up a third straight win inside the Octagon, leaving his goal of going undefeated in 2015 incomplete. This loss certainly isn’t sitting well with the Washingtonian who now must regroup and rebound quickly if he hopes to stay competing under the UFC banner. At this point, Sicilia’s inconsistency is the most consistent thing about him, and he’s running out of time to prove the contrary.
It was just over a year ago when I last wrote about Sam Sicilia. He was coming off a big win and looking to fight his way into the top fifteen at featherweight. It seemed that he had finally found his comfort zone inside the cage and was fighting with a confidence that was backed up by power and a desire to find a finish at any turn. Things hadn’t changed much since that time. Heading into his fight last Saturday in Korea, Sicilia mentioned to MMA Junkie that he was finally enjoying himself in the cage. He was feeling more prepared than ever for his matchup with up and coming Korean star, Doo Ho Choi, and expected to parlay his success into a shot at headlining a card in 2016. Maybe these lofty goals caused Sicilia to look past his opponent, because when the cage door closed it seemed Sicilia had no answer for the speed, accuracy, and power of the ultra-athletic Choi. The quick first-round finish by Choi exposed Sicilia’s deficiencies in the striking department. Leaving his hands down and his chin exposed, Sicilia was an open target for the more accurate Choi. The TKO finish was only the second time Sicilia had ever been stopped by strikes.
What’s next for Sam Sicilia? My hopeful side would like to see him get back into the cage sooner rather than later to wash the taste of defeat from his mouth. A quick return bout, hopefully one that he doesn’t have to leave the country for, would go a long way in keeping Sicilia relevant in one of the most talent rich divisions in the UFC. Sicilia has of late been asked to travel quiet extensively for his fights; three of his last four fights have taken place outside the US. Fighting on foreign soil hasn’t necessarily hurt Sicilia but it likely didn’t help either. But a fight is a fight and any fight he can get he should take. A rematch with Maximo Blanco would be a great fight for Sicilia. In their first fight, Blanco exposed Sicilia’s lack of lateral footwork and for most of the fight picked apart Sicilia with great range. Blanco is very athletic and fits the same mold as Choi. A win over an athletic fighter like Blanco would go a long way in showing the UFC brass that his loss to Choi was a fluke. Blanco has won three straight fights inside the Octagon, but with just a 4-4 record since joining the UFC, Blanco is also a fighter looking to prove he can win consistently. Knocking off the streaking Blanco might give Sicilia the momentum he needs to go on a streak of his own. Just about any fight Sicilia can get would make sense at this point, what he really needs is opportunity and wins.
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