"He likes a slow-paced fight" - Christian Aguilera relishes the stylistic clash against Carlston Harris at UFC Vegas 26 [Exclusive]

Christian Aguilera relishes the stylistic clash against Carlston Harris at UFC Vegas 26.

In a conversation with Sportskeeda MMA’s John Hyon Ko, UFC welterweight fighter Christian Aguilera opened up on multiple topics.

Christian Aguilera is as confident as ever ahead of his return at UFC Vegas 26:

Christian Aguilera made his debut in 2020, winning via knockout against Anthony Ivy in 59 seconds. He lost his next fight via submission to Sean Brady. When asked about how much he grew as a fighter in 2020, here's what he had to say:

“A lot, man. The pandemic gave me the opportunity to fight in the UFC. So, that was definitely a big growing opportunity. I fought a guy who’s ranked No. 14 in the world right now. So, that was it, and I did fairly well against him, I think, until I got caught. But anyway, like, it showed me where I need to work on. It showed me where I need to improve my game. And I think we’ve made those changes. I think we’ve made those, like patched up all the holes that we needed to. So, we should see a better version of myself in the next fight.”

Additionally, after coming off a submission loss, Christian Aguilera explained that he’s been working on his jiu-jitsu and overall grappling skills.

“Yeah, work on not getting submitted,” Christian Aguilera noted, as he explained that he’s focused on constantly growing as a well-rounded MMA fighter. “Start focusing a little more on the ground game, focusing a little more on cleaning up the jiu-jitsu, cleaning up the wrestling, cleaning up the transitions. Just, yeah, more rounding out the game a little bit more.”

Christian Aguilera proceeded to hark back to the time after his loss; the subsequent injury issues he dealt with that caused him to pull out of a fight, recovering from his injury, evolving, and coming back stronger.

Furthermore, Christian Aguilera smiled and claimed that he’s a sore loser. Aguilera added that he hates losing, and he’d love to right his wrongs and avenge his recent loss. The welterweight fighter also revealed that he pulled out of his fight in January 2021 because he tweaked his back.

Christian Aguilera was unable to train for about four weeks, but he’d still find a way to make things work for him. He added that he’d still train, albeit in a limited capacity. Aguilera stated that comprehensive rest was one of the biggest factors that helped him recover from his injury and eventually return to training at full capacity.

Aguilera also explained that teaching others MMA helps an individual understand the details of each move, which in turn improves one’s knowledge further. Moreover, Christian Aguilera seemed quite optimistic about the stylistic matchup with his upcoming opponent, Carlston Harris. Aguilera said –

“Yeah, I’m happy, man. It should be a good fight. He’s a tough guy. He’s come from Brave (Combat Federation). I think he’s their champion over there; was their champion before he came here. So, yeah, it’s a big name to get back against.”

“I’ll fight whoever. I don’t really care,” Aguilera said when asked whether he looked his opponent up ahead of their fight. “Hey, we’ll figure it out once we’re in there. It’s still a fistfight. Eventually, I’m going to fight everyone. So, (I’ll fight) whoever they give me.”

“He’s definitely like; he has a very specific style. He likes to take people down. He likes to grind them out. He likes to push them. Yeah, he likes, like, a slow-paced fight.”

“He likes to grab people and look for submissions. Grab people, drag them to the floor; grab people, hold them on the fence; which is like cool. Like, I’ll take that. I like that. I like that as a matchup. Should be fun." (*Please credit Sportskeeda for the interview and transcription)

Welterweight talent Christian Aguilera also addressed the UFC 261 (April 24th, 2021) main event bout between his division’s champion Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal. Aguilera had words of high praise for Usman’s striking skills in this matchup.

Aguilera went on to say that even though he initially watches fights as a fan, he eventually watches them as a fighter too. Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA, ‘The Beast’ said he looks to stay true to his moniker, dominate, and return to winning ways in his upcoming fight. Christian Aguilera is scheduled to fight Carlston Harris in a welterweight bout at UFC Vegas 26 on May 8, 2021.