Shane Burgos doesn’t have specific timeline, but move to 155 ‘is definitely in my future’

For anyone that sees Shane Burgos in person, or inside the octagon, it’s very clear he is not your typical featherweight.

Burgos competed recently at UFC 262 against Edson Barboza in the event’s Fight of the Night, taking home a $75,000 bonus despite suffering a bizarre KO loss in the third round. It was the second consecutive loss for the exciting 145-pound contender, and his third defeat overall of his career.

With all the work and sacrifice it takes for Burgos to make the featherweight limit behind the scenes, the 30-year-old sees a move up to lightweight coming at some point.

“The actual cutting weight part isn’t that bad. The dieting down to a safe weight to be able to cut the weight, that’s the part that’s just not fun,” Burgos told MMA Fighting while appearing on What the Heck. “155 is definitely in my future. I don’t know when, but it’s definitely in the future.”

The Tiger Schulmann’s standout recently explained the wild ending to the main card opener in Houston, along with the fact that—although he will be taking things slow on the road back to the octagon—Burgos didn’t have any long-term damage coming out of the fight. In fact, his doctor told him that once he surpasses a seven to 10 day stretch without any concussion symptoms, he could be cleared to return to training very soon.

As much as the loss stings for the overly competitive Burgos, now that the fight is over, as well as the fact he wears the husband and dad hats in addition to the UFC gloves, he turned the page almost immediately.

“I can’t dwell on it too much because it wouldn’t be fair to my wife and kids,” Burgos said. “Now is the time for me to just be dad, be a husband again, and not be completely consumed with the fight. I’m out of it now and what happened, happened. I made some good money—I could’ve made more money had I won, so that sucks—but I gotta be dad. I’ve gotta focus on that.

“Nobody really sees the sacrifice and the self-discipline that goes into a fight camp. I don’t know how anybody else feels but everyone knows I’m a big featherweight. For me to make 145 as safely and as smoothly as I do, I’m super meticulous about my diet. Everything I eat is weighed or sized. If we go out to dinner, I’m bringing my own food because everything is super strict, super organized and disciplined. That takes a toll on me mentally and you get cranky, get moody, and the only people that are gonna get the sh*tty end of that is my family and I don’t want to be that.

“So when I don’t have a fight anymore. I just want to be normal dad, ‘Let’s go get some ice cream. Let’s go do this, or do that, and have fun.’ Let’s not stress about me making 145.”