The calculated chaos of rising UFC contender that "fights like Sean Strickland talks"

Streaking UFC featherweight Chepe Mariscal breaks down his ultra-violent fighting style.

Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

Few UFC stars fight quite like Chepe Mariscal.

The unranked featherweight they call "Machine Gun" has hit a mean streak recently, winner of his last 8 fights, now 5-0 in the Octagon after defeating Ricardo Ramos at UFC Vegas 103 earlier this month.

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Finishing Touches

It was a clean sweep on the scorecards for Mariscal, who battered a very crafty Ramos from the first bell to the very last. Even when he had the fight won, the 32-year-old chose to slug it out with his opponent in the final seconds, unloading all the weapons from his arsenal.

"To always get the finish, anything that's gonna put a stamp on the round for me," Mariscal told MMA Knockout of his fighter mentality. "That's why I try to blow up, try to get an even five or one second knockout would be cool. So it's about adding a stamp to the win and showing the judges I was there to fight and become victorious."

Chepe Mariscal's fighting style has quickly made him a fan favorite. / David Yeazell-Imagn Images

Chepe Mariscal 'Doing Exactly What The Game Allows'

Mariscal's fighting style and the relentless pace he pushes have quickly resonated with the UFC fanbase a few fights in. Mariscal hasn't always found the finish, but when his fights are on they're "must watch TV."

"He fights like Sean Strickland talks," one fan wrote of Mariscal's fighting style on YouTube.

Sean Strickland, the former UFC middleweight champion, passionately said he'd fight Dricus du Plessis 'to the death' at UFC 313. In the end, it was du Plessis who was the more violent fighter, breaking the American's nose in Round 4.

25 fights into his pro career and several losses on the regional scene, Mariscal is really finding his 'flow' in the UFC, doing everything he can under the unified MMA rules.

"Just natural reaction, however I feel the flow," Mariscal said of where he fights from. "Sometimes I go southpaw, do some oblique kicks, some elbows, switch my stance and I'm dirty boxing. I'm doing exactly what the game allows me to do."

"If I had took down Ramos and had 'em in a good position, I would've tried my 12-6 elbows. Anything that I'm allowed to do, I'll go out there and apply it, make the fights fun."

Chepe Mariscal loves to show off his well-rounded skillset. / Corey Perrine / USA TODAY NETWORK

Fight IQ

Learning more and more in each fight, how does Mariscal balance between fighting a little reckless and staying patient?

"Just having the right people in my ear," Mariscal said. "My corner just knows me so well when I'm about to pull the trigger and they're like 'patience', putting those right words in the mindset that I have, just so the beast doesn't get too wild then I get caught or anything like that."

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Chepe Mariscal Tries To Emulate Merab Dvalishvili & Other Fighters

Equipped with a pressure-heavy style, "Machine Gun" says he's inspired by champions like Merab Dvalishvili, Islam Makhachev, and Belal Muhammad.

"Merab is one that I consistently look at in his fights and the way he pushes pressure," Mariscal continued. "Belal Muhammad, Curtis Blaydes, a lot of guys that just apply that forward pressure. Khabib, Islam, he got more interesting 'cause he's southpaw. So I'm like trying to steal things from both stances and how I could do entries. Just adding everything to my game."

UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Avoiding many spinning elbows in his last fight against Ricardo Ramos, Chepe Mariscal also says he want to add those to his arsenal.

The 'Anybody, Anytime, Anywhere' Mentality

Mariscal trains 5-8 rounds for each sparring session, working for a UFC main event slot and more massive fights against whoever's in front of him.

"I called out like Josh Emmett - the scariest guy in the weight class. But like, that's my point of like doing this game," Mariscal explained. "I wanna fight anybody, anytime, anywhere. Anybody that's gonna be in the rankings right now... I want to be the next guy who's in the rankings who's not matched up and obviously not saying no to anybody, like I wanna beat all those dudes."

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"So when I do get a title run or I do get the title, nobody could ever say, 'Well that guy said no to that guy."

Chepe Mariscal hopes to challenge for a UFC title in the future. / David Yeazell-Imagn Images

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