New gym, new fighter: David Onama excited to show evolution at UFC on ABC 5
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – UFC featherweight David Onama has been frustrated with the start of the year, but is excited to get things started in his first fight with a new camp.
Onama (10-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC), the first UFC fighter from Uganda, takes on Gabriel Santos (10-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) on the main card of UFC on ABC 5, which takes place Saturday at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and airs live on ABC following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.
A pair of opponents have fallen through for Onama, which has made it tough to erase the sting of a majority decision loss in a wild Fight of the Night against Nate Landwehr last August at UFC on ESPN 41. Now just days away from his first fight of 2023, Onama is excited to get things rolling in the right direction with his new camp at Factory X in Denver.
“It’s something new, something different, just trying out a new gym,” Onama told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “I love it out there. I feel welcome and I feel good training there. … I’ve learned a lot just being there for almost five months now. Everybody there is skilled.
“So, I’m going to come out a different fighter this weekend. I’m going to put everything together, everything I’ve worked on – a different style, everything’s more techniques. This weekend’s going to be a lot of me being a techniques fighter and not just brawling, so I’m looking forward to that.”
Onama, 29, previously trained at Glory MMA & Fitness under James Krause, who came under fire due to a huge betting scandal that included concerns of fight fixing.
After a pair of UFC victories in 2022 that both came by impressive stoppages, Onama will now look to get back into the win column Saturday. He has respect for his opponent Santos, but feels a level above the 26-year-old Brazilian who lost his UFC debut in March.
“I think I’m going to be his biggest, toughest fight this weekend,” Onama said. “I’m going to come out and just do me and have fun.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ABC 5.