Many believe
Taylor
Lapilus is back where he belonged all along.
The 31-year-old Frenchman will return to the
Ultimate Fighting Championship for the first time in nearly
seven years when he dukes it out with the unbeaten
Caolan
Loughran as part of the
UFC Fight Night 226 undercard on Saturday at Accor Arena in
Paris. Lapilus rides into the Octagon on a five-fight winning
streak. He posted a 3-1 record in four assignments during his first
UFC run between April 11, 2015 and Sept. 3, 2016, a unanimous
decision defeat to
Erik Perez
his only misstep.
As Lapilus takes aim at Loughran ahead of their welterweight
prelim, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. He rose out of the suburbs.
Lapilus was born in Villepinte, France—a city of roughly 38,000
people situated 18 miles northeast of Paris. He shares a hometown
with actor Said Taghmaoui, who has appeared in “Three Kings,” “G.I.
Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” “Wonder Woman” and “John Wick: Chapter
3–Parabellum.”
2. An early start served him well.
“Double Impact” made his professional mixed martial arts debut on
March 31, 2012, eight days before his 20th birthday. Lapilus
submitted
Isa Abiev with
a first-round triangle choke under the Octagon Fighting Club
banner. It was the first of his six career wins by submission.
3. He places a premium on preparedness.
Lapilus operates out of the highly regarded MMA Factory camp in
Paris founded by
Lopez
Owonyebe. A number of accomplished mixed martial artists have
called the gym home, including former UFC heavyweight champion
Francis
Ngannou, UFC Fight Night 226 headliner
Ciryl Gane
and former
Bellator
MMA light heavyweight titleholder Christian M’Pumbu. Lapilus
has also spent time training at
SBG Ireland in Dublin.
4. Tangible accolades buoy his resume.
The well-rounded Lapilus has struck gold in three different
organizations. He captured the German MMA Championship bantamweight
title when he punched out
Farbod
Iran Nezhad in the first round of their Feb. 24, 2018
encounter, laid claim to the TKO Major League MMA bantamweight
championship when he cut down
Nathan
Maness with a body kick in the third round of their May 24,
2019 pairing and took home the Ares Fighting Championship
bantamweight crown when he put away
Demarte
Pena with elbows and punches in the first round of their April
16, 2022 confrontation.
5. Detours intrigue him.
Lapilus ventured into pro boxing and did so successfully in May
2017, as he was awarded a four-round unanimous decision over Heri
Andriyanto at the Resorts World Sentosa in Sentosa Island,
Singapore. He returned to MMA seven months later and has compiled
an 8-1 record across nine appearances since.