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With injury struggles behind him, Julian Marquez 'on top of the world' ahead of UFC Fight Night 195

LAS VEGAS – For nearly three years, Julian Marquez was absent from the UFC cage.

As he battled through multiple setbacks and injuries, Marquez (9-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) struggled mentally and physically. When he returned in February, however, the long road proved to be the correct one as he defeated Maki Pitolo in a “Performance of the Night” bonus-earning win. He followed it up with a “Fight of the Night” bonus-earning victory over Sam Alvey in April.

On Saturday at UFC Fight Night 195, he’ll seek his third-straight bonus-earning victory when he battles rising Jackson Wink MMA middleweight Jordan Wright (12-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) on the main card.

“Man, I’m golden, dude,” Marquez told MMA Junkie at a pre-fight news conference Wednesday. “I’m on top of the world feeling great, happy, satisfied. My life has changed. For 31 months, you guys didn’t hear nothing from me. There was nothing happening. I suffered that severe injury. It took a long time to get back and it was a very struggling, unsatisfying process. Very painful. But it’s all changing. It’s because of my team around me. It’s because of my family around me. It’s because of my will to want to succeed.”

UFC Fight Night 195 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex. The card streams on ESPN+. Check out Marquez’s full UFC Fight Night 195 pre-fight news conference in the video above.

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