Sitting down ahead of his highly anticipated matchup Zhang Mingyang at UFC Macau, Alonzo Menifield opened up about his mental reset following recent setbacks, how a background in professional football forged his toughness, and why the ultimate key to survival in the industry is authenticity
Updated: May 29, 2026, 4:38 PM IST
Share Article
https://www.india.com/sports/exclusive-ufc-light-heavyweight-fighter-alonzo-menifield-promises-options-aplenty-ahead-of-massive-clash-against-zhang-mingyang-8429869/
Alonzo Menifield after knocking out Askar Mozharov in UFC Fight Night in June 2022. (Image credit: Alonzo Menifield/Instagram)
“I named myself Atomic, because atomic means being odd and it’s an atom splitting. And I would like to just make that represent power, if that’s what I was being associated with.” That’s how Alonzo Menifield, a college footballer turned UFC fighter, got his nickname and it’s relatable in more ways than one.
Alonzo Menified’s genuine ability to knockout opponents in the 1st round, something people witnessed on his first 4 matches from July 2017 to June 2019, earned him the tag of being one of the most terrifying upcoming talent in Light heavyweight division. Not only in attack, the 38-year-old is equally potent defensively, boasting 78 per cent of successful takedown defense attempts but that’s no co-incidence.
The self-belief and confidence is why he named himself Atomic. Although his tactics have backfired against him on several occasions but it is part and parcel of combat sports and he knows how to recover and get back up.
Instead of letting bad performances slide away, Alonzo Menifield likes to get to the bottom and find the root cause, something he discussed in an exclusive interaction with India.com English ahead of his massive UFC Macau fight against Zhang Mingyang on May 30.
Apart from using the modern, computerized analytical approach, Menifield likes to reconnect with nature by going to Colorado and throwing himself to the old grind to prepare for the next fight.
“When it doesn’t go my way, resets immediately. Do something about it. What caused that to happen? And that’s what I’ve always done and have done, and I felt like going back to Colorado and getting back to the old grinding (is) way of just getting ready for a fight, going to the mountains. I feel like yeah, that that’s something that I felt that was necessary, and I did,” Alonzo Menifield told India.com English.
Evolution from a first-round finisher to a more mature tactician
In sports, be it combat or any other, what matters is the desire and hunger to transform, renew and reconquer in a very short span of time. That’s why the process of learning and adapting is so important in an athlete’s life as that’s the only way they can evolve.
When asked about his transition from a first-round finisher to a more mature tactical fighter, Alonzo Menifield stated that going out and getting different perspectives from people in the industry helped him to add more layers to his game. His victories against Julius Walker and Oumar Sy last year are two good examples when he took the fight to round 3.
“I mean if I think about 2024, I was personally like probably training myself. To go out and like seek out insight, corner insight and people to help me prepare for actual fighting. I think it definitely honed me to be more of a surprise, but a good surprise to my opponents,” Menifield added.
‘Options are there’ – Menifield on his preparations for UFC Macau
After seeing his two-game winning streak snapped up by Volkan Oezdemir in a 1st round knockout back in June last year, Alonzo Menifield is locked and loaded for his first assignment in nearly 12 months against Zhang Mingyang, the Mountain Tiger on UFC Macau on Saturday.
The 38-year-old is looking forward to surprise Zhang Mingyang by showing him something, the latter didn’t know Menifield was capable of. Given Mingyang’s grip in counter fighting, Alonzo believes he has many options to curb that threat and that he can grapple his way through to make him submit, if required.
“Yeah, just taking it to where he feels comfortable, and then showing him something that he probably doesn’t know that I can do or am capable of. He’s a counter fighter, so we’ll see how much he wants to go as far as countering. I can exploit that. The fight could go many ways. I can go into grappling if I see the shot, and go and submit him. Who knows? The options are there. It just depends on me being able to read him and what he shows,” Menifield said about his strategy against Zhang Mingyang.
How American Football shaped him for the UFC Octagon?
For those who didn’t know, Alonzo Menifield started out as a linebacker in professional American Football before transitioning to Mixed Martial Arts in 2015, Menifield spent many years absorbing the pressure of the sport as well as the locker room environment, something he feels laid the groundwork for the conditioning required inside the UFC Octagon.
In fact, Alonzo Menifield’s record of 17-6-1, since knocking out Daniel Jolly on his UFC debut back in July 2017, says a lot about his mindset he possesses.
“Football just taught me to grind and do whatever it takes to win,” he explained. “I know being a linebacker was pretty tough on my body. I would say it’s probably been the most tough on my body versus MMA, ever, period. Having that football background just made me really understand how it is to grind and really go forward trying to stand out.” – Menifield said when asked about his transition from football to MMA.
Unity through his pre-fight gear
One interesting thing about sports is that they have the power to unite, and if Alonzo Menifield ever had a chance to do so, it would be through his clothing. We asked him what his pre-fight gear would look like if he were to design it himself without any restrictions. He said it would be a combination of blue and red to represent unity and togetherness across communities.
“Mine would probably be a combination of blue and red to solidify unity. Make something that’s negative in the States positive, so we can come together and help that community,” Alonzo Menifield told India.com English.
Alonzo reflects on his goals and gives a message for his young followers
We also asked Alonzo Menified about that one fighter he is keen on facing in the Light heavyweight division and although he didn’t mention any name, the 38-year-old confidently claimed it to be anyone from the top 10. “I’d like to fight anyone top 10. Even some of those rematches would be nice.”
He then disclosed that his goal, in the next 2 years, is to be among the top 10 fighters in his division. “I’m just trying to make it where I’m top 10 in the next two years. That that’s my my goal. And then we’ll see what happens after that.”
The California-born fighter had a message for his young followers, whom he asked to stay real and authentic no matter what. Alonzo feels it’s particularly important for upcoming fighters in India and across the world.
“If you’re a character, then hey, that’s you. If it’s natural, then be yourself. Being yourself is always important ’cause you don’t want to be something you’re not because that that can be exhausting. Young fighters and people coming up, if you can be yourself and just stride off of that, then (through) all means, do that,” Alonzo Menifield concluded.
When and where to watch Alonzo Menifield vs Zhang Mingyang
Alonzo Menifield vs Zhang Mingyang at UFC Fight Night can be live streamed exclusively on the Sony LIV app/website on Saturday, May 30 from 4:30 PM (IST) onwards.
