Lenny ‘The Gorilla’ Rufati (4-2) looks to take another step closer to realizing his MMA goals as he meets undefeated Canadian Yohan Lainesse (4-0) in a middleweight bout at Cage Fury 86 on UFC Fight Pass, October 29th.
Rufati is coming off a round two TKO victory over DeVon Mosley in February of this year, earning him his fourth professional victory. ‘The Gorilla’ discussed the importance of this win. “I was very happy, we had a similar record but he also had some pro boxing bouts so I thought let’s not play his game let’s play my game. I got the takedown immediately and went to work. First-round I think he got gassed a bit from me pounding him in his guard. Second round I went right back to work I got the takedown immediately and he was tired I got the pass I pinned the arm and as soon as I pinned the arm on knew it was over”.
Lenny has two professional losses, both losses came to the same man, Troy Green. Although this is a topic of frustration for the Roufusport fighter, Rufati explained what he learned from his latest setback and how he has grown since. “I made the mistake of fighting the guy two months later. We had a very close first fight and then it was just all ego. I wanted to run it back two months later I got in my own head I beat myself in that rematch. I went against my coach’s game plan and ya know you live and you learn”.
Training at Roufusport clearly has plenty of perks. Lenny has evolved as a mixed martial artist since making the move to one of the most popular gyms in the world. However, things haven’t always been smooth sailing. Rufati discussed this particular camp and the downtimes he suffered during the pandemic, prior to getting this fight. “The gym closed, my job closed down, honestly I was a depressed brother. I realized how important MMA has become to me. I almost took it for granted I didn’t know how much I loved just going to practice, being at practice, and leaving practice. I just thank God that the ball is rolling again I know the pandemic isn’t over just yet but we cat shut down the world forever”. Rufati went on to explain just how depressed he was and the weight gain he suffered from this depression. “I got up to 237 and I am only 5’9’, but I am ripped now a solid 190. So I put on about 40 pounds in about three months and then I took off 40 to 50 pounds the next three months”. Lenny is back to his old Gorilla self and told me he feels more rejuvenated than ever now that he has pushed through the rough times 2020 had to offer.
Rufati has respect for anyone that steps inside of the cage but feels this matchup with Yohan is tailor-made for him. Lenny explained why he is extremely confident heading into this fight and why he believes getting a victory via a finish is ultimately what will happen. “My opponent on paper looks great. He is 4-0 with 3 knockouts but he has not fought anybody good. My last opponent (DeVon Mosley) was 3-2 has the same amount of wins all four of my opponents, opponents. He is just a local ticket seller and they feed him bums. Everything will come to play when the cage locks and we are in there I feel like this is a great fight for me”. Rufati went on to explain he believes Yohan is a big guy who just likes to bully his opponents and Lenny has a plan for that. “He likes to bully guys. What do you do with that you bully the bully? That’s why a bully is a bully cause they don’t like getting bullied. After the first round, he is gonna be gassed. If it goes past the first round I know I am gonna win. Let’s see what happens I feel really good about it, I’ve fought guys better and I’ve fought guys bigger”.
