James Vick still has not fully healed from the mental wounds of his first-round knockout loss against Justin Gaethje at UFC Nebraska, but nonetheless, he is ready to move forward and wage war again.
This Sunday at UFC Phoenix, that is precisely what Vick will do when he enters the Octagon against Paul Felder, the man whom Vick was originally slated to face instead of Justin Gaethje last year. James Vick hopped at the chance to fight the higher-ranked Gaethje when Gaethje’s scheduled fight with Al Iaquinta fell through, and that opportunity was well earned, as Vick was then riding a four-fight winning streak prior to the replacement booking. James Vick is now seeking to earn a similar opportunity in 2019, and he is open to facing anybody on the UFC roster to make it happen:
“I’m looking at beating Paul Felder and still having to fight someone ranked below me again, maybe a couple people,” Vick told UFC.com in a recent interview. “Maybe after I win this fight, maybe I have to fight two people ranked below me before I get an opportunity.”
“If they ask me to fight someone that I don’t think I should be fighting, I’m not going to turn down fights,” said Vick, who enters Sunday’s contest against Felder positioned at No. 10 in the lightweight rankings. “If I have to go that route, I will. I’m not going to sit here in the prime of my career and not fight; I’m not going to sit here for a whole year and hold out. That’s not why I got into being a fighter.”
James Vick may have an “anybody, anywhere” attitude, but he believes that he could find himself in position for a title fight after as few as two additional victories:
“My goal is still to be a world champion and I still feel that with two or three fights, I’m going to be in line for a title shot,” Vick stated. “Where I’m ranked, it only takes one or two fights to get you up drastically, but it’s hard now because all these guys don’t want to fight. The only thing I can do is keep fighting and be active.”
Do you believe James Vick will ever receive a UFC title shot?
