Pat Sabatini Enters UFC 328 With Three Straight Wins
pat sabatini enters UFC 328 on a three-fight winning streak, and the run has come after he says he worked through the mental grind that followed a March 2024 stoppage loss and a minor knee procedure. He meets William Gomis at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, with more confidence than he had earlier in the year.
Pat Sabatini and William Gomis
Sabatini said the change has been real in both preparation and perspective. “I feel like it’s had an impact on my whole life in general,” he said about working with Micah Schnurstein of the Sports Psychology Team at the UFC Performance Institute.
He added that the work changed the way he carries the game into the cage. “I got to use the life-skills that (Schnurstein) showed me with my everyday life before I got to use it in the Octagon because I was just coming off (a minor knee procedure) and that was just went I started working with him… I used to just take everything so seriously and live in that fight way beyond those 15 minutes. What it did was destroyed a lot of love I had for the sport, and I was so not present in a lot of my fights. Now, it’s way more enjoyable, I’m way more efficient in preparation, way more present, way more enjoying the moment; way less nerves and way less care.”
Marques MMA to Newark
The 35-year-old Marquez MMA representative said he is unbeaten since addressing those hurdles, and the latest win in the streak came against Chepe Mariscal. That stretch has given the Philadelphia native a cleaner lane back toward the level of opposition he wants.
“I’ve always had the discipline, but I feel like this is the real superpower is being able to harness that presence, use the mind the way it’s meant to be used, and them just go in there and shine; simple as that,” he said. He also said, “Your mind doesn’t come with a manual, so learning how to use it properly has paid dividends… I feel like I’m oozing with confidence and it’s only the tip of the iceberg; it’s only going to keep getting better with time.”
Pat Sabatini's featherweight test
Gomis brings a 5-1 mark under the UFC banner, and Sabatini described him as “a very smart fighter, very rangy, with very good kicks; I think he’s a good all-around opponent.” That matchup gives Sabatini a style test rather than the ranked opponent he has said he wants next.
He also said he believes he is the best grappler in the featherweight division. That is the standard he is chasing now, and Newark gives him another chance to push that case after the turn he says began with the work he did after the loss to Diego Lopes in March 2024.
