Micheal Gillmore believes he’ll have more success at welterweight after TUF stint: “I achieved a goal of getting to the UFC but the next step is to get a UFC win”

Micheal Gillmore always planned on dropping to welterweight.

Gillmore competed on The Ultimate Fighter 29 where he was an alternate on the show. He quit his job to be an alternate and got his shot on short notice but suffered a stoppage loss to Gilbert Urbina. He then got a short-notice fight against Andre Petroski in his debut and suffered a submission loss.

Now, Gillmore is set to drop down to welterweight and face Ramiz Brahimaj at UFC Vegas 49. For Gillmore, he’s excited to drop down to 170 as he believes that is where he will be the best.

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“Yeah, 170 is where I feel more comfortable, size-wise. Those guys at 185, for the most part, are just big monsters,” Gillmore said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “When I stepped in the cage against Andre Petroski I was only 191 or 192 so I didn’t bulk up enough. The guys at the top of 185 are monsters. I went up to 185 to get on the show, there are some guys at 185, size-wise I think I can compete with. I was told by Mick Maynard I had to pick 170 or 185 and 170 is where I feel most comfortable at and where I think I will have the best advantages for myself.”

Although he is dropping down to welterweight, the fight camp did not go as planned. He was booked to fight Jonny Parsons but less than two weeks’ notice Parsons was forced out and Brahimaj stepped up. However, Gillmore doesn’t care, as for him, he’s just focused on picking up a UFC win.

“That’s been my singular focus. I came in late on the show and didn’t have a good performance,” Gillmore said. “Against Andre, I feel like I raised my stock and showed I’m a real fighter and I do have skills. Searching for that first UFC win has been the whole focus since fighting Andre and not knowing when my next fight would come up. I achieved a goal of getting to the UFC but the next step is to get a UFC win.”

If Micheal Gillmore does get his hand raised, he says he wants to be as active as possible and start stringing together some wins.

“It depends on how I come out of the fight. If I come out healthy, I want to be an active fighter. I want to keep the momentum going and start stacking up the wins. Plus, I have a family I need to support so I need to be as active as I can be. The goal for me is to get back on a winning streak,” Gillmore concluded.