[autotag]Taylor Lapilus[/autotag] had a solid run in the UFC, but it was short-lived.
The 27-year-old French fighter made his UFC debut in 2015 and was able to put together a 3-1 record with the promotion.
But his unanimous decision win over Leandro Issa in 2016 in Hamburg, Germany, was his final fight in the promotion. It was a rare occurrence in which a fighter exited the UFC off of a win.
Lapilus (15-3 MMA), who is set to compete for the new Afro-French promotion ARES FC on Saturday, said he has goals of returning to the UFC next year.
“For 2020, I hope to make a return to the UFC,” Lapilus told MMA Junkie. “I want to fight the best guys in the world, and I think the majority of them are in UFC. I’m confident that I can go far once I come back. I don’t have specific opponents in mind, but I know I lost a bit of time, and I’d like to fight the best guys on the roster.”
For now, Lapilus is focused on the task at hand. He draws Brazil’s Marcos Breno, who has won his past seven fights.
“I think Marco is a good athlete,” Lapilus said. “He’s well-rounded and aggressive, as well. I had a good training camp in MMA Factory with the best sparring and coaches in Europe – Nicolas Ott, Mehdi Ben Lakhdar, Morgan Charriere and my brother, Damien Lapilus. I feel great and I feel strong. Breno is , but I think I’ll finish him before the end of the fight.”
Following his departure from the UFC, Lapilus tried his hand at boxing and beat Heri Andriyanto by unanimous decision in May 2017. That’s an experience he hopes to relive again someday.
“After leaving the UFC, I wanted to take a bit of time to reflect on my career by taking my coach Fernand Lopez’s advice,” he said. “We decided to try something else, and it was a very good experience that I could repeat in the future. But I went back to MMA because my love for the sport was too strong.”
He did continue working on his boxing craft, though, and paid a visit to Floyd Mayweather’s gym for some training in 2018.
“I really enjoyed my stay as a whole in the U.S.,” Lapilus said. “The time spent at the UFC (Performance Institute) was a really good memory, as well as the time spent at the Mayweather gym. I think it helped improve my boxing skills.”
With the recent legalization of MMA in France delayed, ARES FC’s planned event in Paris on March 21 could be in jeopardy, but Lapilus is confident that the issue will be resolved before then.
“I’m not disappointed because it’ll happen sooner or later,” Lapilus said. “We’re working with the ministry for that, so I think ARES FC has a good chance of being here in March for a great event.”
