It’s not the scenario Pineda was expecting in his life at this time last year, but after going 8-2 with eight finishes and 2 no contests following a 3-4 stint in the UFC from 2012 to 2014, he was certainly in line to return to the big show, and that’s where he always wanted to be.
“The whole time, the goal was to be in the UFC, no matter what,” he said. “So in my head, I wanted to be in the UFC and I felt like that’s where I belonged.”
Any particular reason why?
“First of all, the bonuses,” Pineda laughs. “I’m that kind of fighter that any fight you see me in, I’m gonna finish ‘em quick or we’re gonna have a Fight of the Night. So that’s one thing. Plus, everybody wants to be in the UFC. That’s the top organization.”
Yet while he was staying busy, the phone wasn’t ringing. Pineda believes it was because he isn’t as young as some of the killers around the featherweight division. But as he says in his best Doc Holliday voice, he believes he’s in his prime at 35.
“I feel like I’m peaking. I started peaking when I was 32-33. I feel good and I feel like I’m putting everything together. And that’s what I don’t understand. They just see an age. They should see finishes instead of age.”
