Athletes
Nicolas Dalby: ‘Danish Dynamite’ Is Ready To Take On The Welterweight Elite
Danish Veteran Is In Explosive Form As He Prepares To Face Rinat Fakhretdinov In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Nicolas Dalby is riding the crest of a wave heading into UFC Fight Night in Saudi Arabia this weekend, and he’s ready to deliver another action-packed performance to earn himself a shot at the UFC’s welterweight Top 15.
In his last performance, the man known as “Danish Dynamite” lived up to his moniker as he demolished highly touted Brazilian prospect Gabriel Bonfim via second-round TKO in Sao Paulo to claim the 23rd win of his professional MMA career.
But that victory was worth more than just another mark in Dalby’s already crowded win column. It was also something of a watershed moment, as he explained during his fight week chat with UFC.com ahead of his bout in Riyadh.
“It felt amazing finally being able to lean into believing in the abilities I have,” he said.
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“That’s probably been holding me back for a long time in my career – having too much self-doubt. It’s a fine line between self-confidence and arrogance, and I’ve been maybe a bit too conservative on the self-confidence thing. I went into the last fight, and this one, trusting my abilities more.”
That win put Dalby in line to face ranked opposition next, and when the name of Rinat Fakhretdinov was presented to him, it was the step up in competition he was looking for.
“I was definitely hoping to get a ranked opponent, and I got that,” he explained.
“Fakhretdinov was ranked 15 when I got the contract. But yeah, for sure. I want to get towards the top as fast as possible. So, no bad blood, but after this fight, I really want to get a higher-ranked opponent.”
The matchup offers another clash of styles for Dalby. After facing, and defeating, striking specialist Muslim Salikhov last June, then submission ace Bonfim last November, he finds himself against a fighter whose style is a marked contrast to his own.
“I think in many ways, we have almost as opposite styles as you can have,” he suggested.
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“I have my base in striking, and that's where I think, if you see it from the outside, people will judge me to be the best. And he's got a base in wrestling, and that's where people from the outside watch him as the best.
“For my own sake, I can only say that I feel confident being in this fight in every distance. But, when we were in Brazil, my coach actually kind of had a feeling that we would get matched against him. So we've been looking at him ever since I fought eight months ago. And I feel like it's paid off in training, a lot.
“Throughout my career, I feel like I've faced basically every type of fighter you can have. So I take on all challenges with a smile. I enjoy taking on a challenge and solving that puzzle of how do my abilities match up against my opponent’s? And how do we create the best strategy and gameplan to make a victory for me possible?”
While Dalby has been evolving his skills and continuing his martial arts journey, he has also publicly shared his experience of dealing with depression and said that he’s happy to do so if it helps other people who are experiencing similar difficulties in their mental health.
“I feel it is very important for me,” he said.
“It's affected me in my life, so very naturally, it's been something that took up a lot of time and effort on my part to deal with. I don't feel it’s stigmatized as much as it was before, but there's still people out there who find themselves in cultures or communities or whatever, where it's not as natural to talk about mental health. And, as long as it's a positive, I don't think you can talk too much about it.
“So, I'll just continue being as open as I feel I can as a public figure, talking about my own mental health and adversities, and trying to also be like a beacon of inspiration for others.”
The decision to go public with his own mental health battles was an important one for himself but, as he explained, it was part of his personal healing process.
“That moment came when I was getting back into fighting,” he recalled.
“Back in 2016 I’d been cut from UFC, I didn't train for a full year, basically, a year and a half. And when I was getting ready to get back to fighting… if not for my followers’ sake, I felt like for my own sake I needed to address the process I’d been through dealing with a depression that (lasted) many years.
“It came through many years leading up to getting released from UFC, but that was kind of like the tipping point, I think. So I just wanted to address that, and it turned out it was a healing process for me to put my thoughts into words and it also seemed like it was very inspirational for people following me.
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“So that, in itself, almost made all of the struggles worth it – that somebody else out there could take something away from it and perhaps be inspired by it.
“I think my life would have been the same anyway, whether I'd shared it or not. But if you think of it in the way as it was a healing process for me, it definitely made my life better. And I take some pride in being so privileged to be an inspiration to others.
“It’s not my main driving factor to improve myself – it’s for my own sake that I do it – I'm just happy somebody else can take from it, as well. But yeah, for sure, having the awareness about what challenges I can face if I don't stay on the right road is nice to have. I wouldn't be without that experience.”
Armed with that experience, having come through a difficult time in his life and career, Dalby is currently in the midst of a superb run of form. He has lost just once in his last 12 fights, with nine wins and two no contests against a decision loss to Tim Means back in 2021.
Since that loss, Dalby has reeled off four consecutive wins, with victories over Claudio Silva, Warlley Alves, Salikhov, and Bonfim sending him into his bout this weekend with real momentum.
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That impetus, coupled with the quality of his opponent this weekend, should add up to a bout against ranked opposition next time out. And, when asked who in the Top 15 he’d set his sights on, Dalby assessed his options before landing on a name who has become a measuring stick for many fighters looking to establish themselves among the UFC’s best at 170 pounds.
“A specific name? Who’s between 15 and 10? I’ll take any!” he said.
“(Neil) Magny could be a fun fight. So, if I had to get one name, Neil Magny. But anyone in the whole Top 15, I would love and be happy to take on. But yeah, sure. If I had to pick one between 10 and 15, let’s go for Magny.”
To give himself the platform to ask for that fight, Dalby needs to step into the Octagon in Riyadh and deliver another big performance. And, in that regard, the Dane is confident he has the skills he needs to get that victory.
“I’m gonna win this fight,” he stated.
“He's not got the level I have. His toolbox is good (but) he's limited. He’s good at what he does, but he doesn't have a lot of tools compared to me, and he doesn't have the engine that I have.
“So I'm gonna drag him to deep waters, like I did with Bonfim, and make him quit.”
UFC Fight Night: Whittaker vs Aliskerov took place live from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on June 22, 2024. See the final Prelim and Main Card results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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