Damian Pinas has drawn plenty of praise from his fighting peers for his punching power.
UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier is a huge fan of Pinas (11-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC), and believes his power is the best that the promotion has ever seen. Coming from someone like a former two-division champion like Cormier, who shared the octagon with some of the heaviest hitters ever, including a feared striker like Anthony Johnson, those words carry a lot of weight.
"For me, it's crazy to hear that coming from a champion, double-champ, you know? It's crazy," Pinas told MMA Junkie. "I'm looking like, OK, all the hard work is paying off, people are seeing the hard work. So, I'm glad to hear that from him."
Pinas made his presence felt on Dana White's Contender Series
last September, earning a UFC contract with a first-round knockout of Vitor Costa. Since then, he's ripped through his first three UFC opponents, stopping Wes Schultz, Cesar Almeida and Andrey Pulyaev in the opening frame.
Surprisingly, Pinas says he isn't even trying to pound out his opponents so early. However, once Pinas gets in there and starts swinging, wild things naturally happen. In his opinion, that's why the comparison to "Rumble" Johnson doesn't quite fit.
"It's not the same, because he was trying to punch your heart," Pinas said. "I'm not trying; it just happens. Like, I just flow. I don't try. In all my fights, you don't see me try to punch hard. The only fight I tried to punch was the Contender fight, when I punched the guy with a 1-2 because I was a madman that day. I was trying to get my contract. So, that's the only fight – but other fights, I was just flowing."
During the heat of battle, Pinas may surprise himself, but in the training room, he says things are vastly different. Pinas claims he's one of the most liked training partners in the gym because he can keep everything under control without issue, especially when he trains with women and men in lighter weight classes.
In 12 professional fights, Pinas has reached only the second round twice – but that's when he feels he's just getting warmed up. If true, that's a trait that will serve him well as he continues his ascent up the middleweight ladder.
"I'm feeling sad for the person that's going to push me to the second round, because I think the second round is going to be the best round," Pinas said. "For me, the first round is almost like you feeling the person. You feel each other. And for me, I'm a slow starter. ... So, when I'm going to get to the second round with someone, they're going to pay a big price that they don't want to, because I'm going to come and I'm going to do what I do. My striking is elite. Nobody saw my foot striking yet. Every time I try to strike a little bit, people go down."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC's Damian Pinas pumps brakes on comparison to legendary knockout artist
