After Training Overhaul, Makwan Amirkhani Feels He'll be a 'Nasty Opponent' at Featherweight

After a year layoff from mixed martial arts, Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight Makwan Amirkhani is set to return to the Octagon at UFC Stockholm this Saturday and will face English native Chris Fishgold.

"Mr. Finland" stepped away from MMA for almost a year to focus solely on the "Sweet Science." Amirkhani (14-3) told Ariel Helwani that he dedicated 10 months of his life to boxing. "I did six amateur boxing fights and I was training 10 months just pure boxing, not a single day of MMA." Amirkhani only added MMA back into his regimen two months ago.

Amirkhani's goal with going all-in on boxing was to elevate his striking game to the level of his wrestling game. The 27-year-old confessed that he also underwent a complete lifestyle change, eliminating all form of distraction and treating himself like a true professional athlete. The complete dedication to his sport has left Amirkhani feeling like a new man: "I never felt this good, ever."

The Iraqi-born fighter improved so drastically that early sparring sessions at Ireland's famed SBG gym left coach John Kavanaugh with zero feedback. Amirkhani says that Kavanaugh remarked: "It's perfect, nothing to add," declared Kavanaugh. "Just do what you are doing now. You are a new fighter."

The Finnish resident believes his training overhaul will put UFC featherweights on notice. "I'm happy, like, that the first time I actually believe that I can be a really, really nasty opponent to everybody and everyone in my division. And I will prove that Saturday."