It's been a while in the making, but Michael Imperato is stepping back into the cage to put his belt on the line once more.
Toronto's Imperato (7-3) will defend his XFFC bantamweight title against Kelowna's Blake Sigvaldason (2-1) on Friday night at XFFC 21 in Grande Prairie, Alta.
At 29 years old, Imperato says that while he technically still holds the belt, he feels compelled to prove himself once again to be truly recognized as the champion.
"I've taken two losses since capturing the belt across different promotions, so from my standpoint, I'm coming off two defeats. I don't feel like a champion right now. A real champ needs to be able to win anywhere in the world," Imperato explained.
"That said, Darren Cliffe decided to leave the title on my shoulder and I appreciate that. I'm going to walk in like a champion, defend it like one, and see where things go from there."
Imperato caught footage of Sigvaldason's most recent bout against Daryl St. Rose at XFFC 20 and admitted he wasn't blown away.
Yet even though he didn't come away particularly excited about what Sigvaldason offers, Imperato emphasized he won't underestimate his opponent in the slightest.
"I've gone toe-to-toe with top-tier talent and I wouldn't classify him as world-class," Imperato noted.
"He's absolutely a test, he's tough, and anything can go down since it's a fight. I'm entering with the mentality that he's the finest fighter alive, yet after seeing his last outing, I wasn't overly impressed."
Elite Jiu-Jitsu
Imperato has built a reputation throughout his career on his superior jiu-jitsu, with six of his seven victories arriving via submission.
Although he acknowledges grappling as his strongest discipline, Imperato views himself as a complete competitor and refuses to concede any area where Sigvaldason might hold an edge.
"My jiu-jitsu operates on a tier above any other Canadian at my weight, and globally I believe I possess very high-level grappling," Imperato stated.
"I'm comfortable in every phase of fighting. I've never been knocked down, never been rocked, so as a striker I'm difficult to shut down. And on the mat? Good luck."
Most professional fighters spend their careers chasing full-time fighting positions or supplementing their income through the sport.
Imperato, however, says he keeps competing purely out of love for the game.
"I consider myself different from a lot of folks. I do this because I genuinely enjoy it. There's no other reason behind it," Imperato shared.
"I'm not chasing fame, I'm not trying to look cool, and I'm not jumping on any bandwagon. I've been involved since I was young. I started competing, fell in love with victory, and I've simply kept pushing myself. All I want is to win."
Imperato's Shoutouts
"I'd definitely like to thank Sam Zakula. He was my one and only coach and I owe everything to him. I'd also like to thank Loki Lounge for covering my travel for this fight, The Gambit Barbershop for helping me out with sponsorship, Xtreme Couture for giving me a place to train, Chris Xeureb at X Performance and Wellness for helping me out with a few injuries I had a few months ago, Jason Greco and Paolo Kekezovic for helping me with training and motivating me, and finally my wife for all the sacrifices she goes through to see me accomplish my dreams."
