“I love it,” he said of the Fury Pro Grappling series, where he’s competed five times in the last couple years, posting a 5-0 record with wins over Alex Caceres, Niko Price, Andrew Kochel, Herbert Burns, and Peter Fazekas. “I love to grapple, I love to compete, and it gives me something to work towards between fights because sometimes you have these gaps between fights that happen.
“It’s good to get out there, get under the lights, perform for people, and stay active. What’s the saying? ‘If you stay ready, you don’t have to get ready,’ so it leads into fight camps really well. It’s more opportunity to practice, get better at it, and I feel like it’s a skill set that is vital and gets better with experience.”
In addition to helping Sabatini restructure how he looks at fight week and ensure he’s rooted in the present, the last year has also brought about a shift in mindset for the former CFFC titleholder, who carries a 19-5 overall record into this weekend’s clash wth Brito.
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“I’m kind of approaching every opponent in a similar way,” began Sabatini, explaining another major change that he’s implemented in the past year. “In the past, I would look at certain opponents and think, ‘This guy is kind of a bad matchup for me,’ but that mindset has shifted to being ‘I’m the bad matchup for them; I’m the one that’s the threat here!’
“It has changed the whole experience,” he said when asked about the impact of that seismic change in perspective. “I am more motivated than ever to show the world what I can bring to the table, my skill set, and it has made this journey more meaningful to me.
“I think sometimes we have to go to those places where we come up short, where we fail, and we’re faced with adversity because that’s what’s gonna bring out the best in us and make these mental shifts,” he added. “To master the mind is the real battle.”
