Khama Worthy plans to show Ottman Azaitar the “Wrong Way” at UFC’s Sept. 5 event
Khama Worthy is trying to take Ottman Azaitar out of his comfort zone on Sept. 5.
Azaitar is undefeated in 12 professional fights and earned a first-round knockout against Teemu Packalen in his UFC debut this past September. Worthy is on a streak of his own with seven-consecutive wins, including back-to-back finishes in his two octagon appearances.
The Pennsylvania native plans to show Azaitar something he hasn’t seen.
“He takes advantage of the things given to him, which is good. I’m not hating on him, I’m like, ‘Shoot,’ everything has been given to him at the right time,” Worthy said.
“I’m going to do the complete opposite, everything is going to be the wrong way.”
Khama Worthy aims to hand Azaitar first defeat
Labeling Azaitar as always being the ‘A Side,’ Worthy was considered the underdog in both of his UFC bouts. He earned the finish in each fight.
Worthy is coming off a third-round submission win against Luis Pena back at UFC on ESPN 12 on June 27. It’s his third submission victory out of 16 wins.
Worthy put the lightweight division on notice in his UFC debut back in August 2019, knocking out Devonte Smith in the first round at UFC 241.
Worthy fought UFC-caliber talent throughout his entire career before entering the octagon. In fact, four of his six losses came at the hands of current or former UFC fighters.
Worthy plans to make his eighth-straight win the first loss of Azaitar’s career.
“I’m battle tested, I don’t think Ottman has been battle tested yet,” Worthy said. “He’s good to his nickname, he’s the bulldozer, he runs through [expletive]. What happens when the bulldozer meets a wall he can’t run through? I don’t think he’s met with that yet and I look forward to getting rid of the O and give him that loss.”
“He’s not going to stand with me”
Azaitar’s last decision win came back in December 2016, finishing his next four opponents. His promotional-debut victory came in under four minutes, putting Packalen out with an overhand right.
Worthy was slated to fight Azaitar at UFC 249 on April 18, but the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Azaitar is known for short fights, finishing nine of his previous opponents in the first round. Worthy is a well-known striker in his own right, finishing nine of his opponents via knockout/TKO.
Azaitar may be a stand-up fighter, but Worthy expects him to wrestle.
“I know for sure he’s not going to stand with me,” Worthy said. “If he decides to stand with me, he’s going to get knocked out.”
