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.
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