Daniel Barez is set to enter the last fight of his current UFC deal when he meets Luis Gurule on the preliminary card of UFC Fight Night 276 at Meta APEX in Las Vegas on Saturday.
The matchup marks the fourth and final bout on Barez’s existing UFC contract. Barez holds a 17-7 professional MMA record and is 1-2 in the UFC, while Gurule comes in at 10-3 in MMA and 0-3 inside the Octagon. Barez hopes a strong win over Gurule will lead to a new contract with the promotion.
"Yes, I need to make this ride last as long as possible," Barez said ahead of the fight. He added, "You know, and everyone knows the long road I've had to take to get here, and we're finally here. I've talked to my manager, and they can tell you thousands of things, but it all depends on this Saturday. After that, we'll know."
Despite the stakes, Barez insisted he is relaxed going into Saturday’s bout. "No, no pressure at all," he said. "This fight is actually the fight I have the least amount of pressure. My life won't change whether I'm in the UFC or not. I have my friends, my family. I have a strong circle, and my life will be the same. I obviously want to be in the UFC and continue fighting in the best promotion in the world. I'm one of the ones that took the longest to sign with UFC, and I finaly made it happen, so I'm going to to everything to get a renewal."
