Israel Adesanya:
I actually was in cruise control. There was a point my coach had to yell at me, “Don’t get bored!” and I was like, “Oh yeah, true, stay focused”. I don’t even know what round it was, but I had to stay focused. I had fun out there.
I felt no threat. Even when he had my back, I was not threatened at all. Not even in the slightest.
There was a point when I reversed that… I spun inside his guard and I held him in a choke, that sexy choke, I looked into his eyes and I said to him, “You’re scared, aren’t you?”, because I saw that look in his eyes. I swear to God, I’ll never forget that look. I will never forget that look. I looked in his eyes, I saw his soul leave his body and I said, “You’re scared, aren’t you?”. That was very satisfying.
I said, “You can say I won now”, and he said, “F*** no. I won that”. Are you f****** kidding me? I was like, you know what? Whatever helps you sleep at night.
Punch him more in the face. I kicked his leg, he is going to be limping tomorrow, I’ll be fine. But I wish I punched him more in the face. He had better boxing, he’s improved his boxing, credit to him and his coach for that.
He handled it well and I didn’t really get to test it like I wanted to. That’s why I’m like, “F***”. I watched the tape and I’m like, “That’s cool, I did really well in that fight”, but at the same time, I really wanted to do more. Still 5-0 though, shutout, so yeah, grazie… Bella as they say.
Brandon Moreno defeated Deiveson Figueiredo via third-round submission
Brandon Moreno:
I can’t even believe it. This is a real dream come true. I worked so hard for this belt. I have ten years as a professional, fifteen years training every single day… This moment is so special. Not just for me, but for all my people, for my country, for my family, for my team… For everybody.
I have so much respect for Deiveson. Obviously, he tried to make it something special, to put more eyes in the fight, pushed me in the press conference, but actually, when he pushed me, I knew I won the fight. I won the fight there. My confidence was very high and he looked different. He didn’t want to look me in the eyes, he put his sunglasses on, he just looked different. When the fight started, I started very, very hard, I started with really high pace. That was the game plan at first and that was it.
That was my point. Definitely, he’s a nice guy, he is a really good person. He has a family, a wife, just like me. I don’t have any animosity against him and he looked very respectful after the fight. For me, the sport means that.
At first, I tried to take the neck very fast, but he defends very well. He took my hand, but I kept my body triangle very well, I was very patient in that moment and then I started to fight again with my hands. I got the neck under the chin and that’s it.
The crowd, all the arena, so many people… So many Mexicans, so many Latinos here in Phoenix, Arizona. I fought here before, before coming to the UFC, so the people know me here in Arizona and definitely, Arizona has a special place in my heart.
What a journey. Even for my wife too, because we started in this together when I was really young. I met her and I had nothing. She started with me, started growing and walking around this journey together.
That will be very special for everybody. Actually I’ll go to Tijuana next Monday with my parents and man, I want to see it… We have some videos of my gym with a huge TV, 150 people watching the fight and celebrating, very crazy.
I’m enjoying this moment because you never know what happens tomorrow, you never know what happens next month. I’m enjoying so much this moment. This fight camp was so long, because I prepared myself not just technically, but mentally too. Six months. It was crazy. I definitely need to rest because my mental health is in the line. I need to rest a little bit, but I want to fight one more time this year and we’ll see. I’m so happy right now.
Leon Edwards defeated Nate Diaz via unanimous decision
Leon Edwards:
Like I said, it was a wild minute… To be dominant in a fight and then get caught with a shot out of the blue, I was like, “what the?!”. There was one minute left, I was up four rounds but Nate is a legend, he’s been around in the sport for a long time and he knows how to ride his shots, he knows how to stay in there and fair play to him.
I kind of put myself in there mentally. I’ve been watching Nate… I’ve seen the stats today on Instagram. When I was at my pro debut, he was headlining a UFC event. I’ve watched Nate Diaz for a long time so I know exactly what he does. I just thought he was trying to talk s***. I went to my corner and my corner just told me to stay composed, don’t play into his game, just do your thing and that’s what I did. I stayed composed.
I respect his game, I respect him for this fight. I knew he was a legend from a lot of how he handled himself, he is always the same, and that’s what I like about him.
It was alright. I give it a 7 out of 10. I could have picked more hands, let more hands go, pick more body shots with my hands… Like I said, live and learn, I can’t believe I caught that shot in the last round, but you have to stay switched off the whole fight, can’t get lazy, and fair play to him.
I feel the world knows what I deserve next. I deserve a world title shot next. That’s 9 in a row, there’s no one else that’s doing what I’m doing in the sport. I’m the one going out there and accepting all the fights, all of them ranked opponents. Khamzat [Chimaev], Diaz, Belal [Muhammad]… Everyone. I’m the one that is saying yes. I’m not turning down fights. I feel the world knows what I deserve next. The world title is next for me.
Belal Muhammad defeated Demian Maia via unanimous decision
Belal Muhammad:
That was one of those tough fights. It’s one of those where you always think about fighting Demian Maia, how it’s going to be, and then all of a sudden, he gets you down in the first round and you’re like, “oh crap, I was not expecting that”. Then it’s like being patient, being smart, I’ve trained for this, I’ve been in bad spots like these before. I know I could get out of it, so once I got up, I was back to the game plan, being smart, being smart, being smart. It’s like one of those where you have to be overly patient, because if you get too restless, that’s when he waits for you to tap.
The biggest thing was basically not letting him lock his hands. We always worked this the whole camp: don’t let him lock his hands. He transitions from single leg to double leg to body lock. It’s like keeping him in one spot and then once I get the space to get away, get away, but don’t force it, don’t try to run and then he will jump on your back.
It was just more like, “Damn, I’m fighting Demian Maia”. I had to get over those… This is like a legend that you look up to type of guy. You can sit there and talk about it, but when you’re actually in the cage with him, you’re like, “Damn, I’m fighting Demian Maia”.
It was an honor to watch him and being a fan of his since I was a kid, watching him against Anderson Silva, watching him fight for the title twice. It’s an honor to share the cage with a guy like that.
Paul Craig defeated Jamahal Hill via first-round TKO
Paul Craig:
My job is to finish the fight. A jiu-jitsu guy, he is a tap, nap or snap and tonight it was snap. It’s the referee’s job to see that, the referee is very experienced and knows it. Jamahal is a very tough opponent as well and he is ultimately in charge of his own destiny. He can decide to tap or see if it’s hard enough, but I think it’s the type of person he is. He is just tough as they come, he’s made of steel and he will come back stronger.
That comes down to six months anticipation. It may have happened three months ago, it’s taken six months to get here, but ultimately we got to the end of it. Any bad blood that’s felt between us before the fight comes, it’s ended as soon as the hand is raised at the end. I’ve got massive respect for him.
He had said his jiu-jitsu was up to the standard I’m in. Maybe it is, but in these positions, that’s where I’m very, very good. I’m very dangerous in them, we’ve seen them in my submission game. I’m only disappointed in the people that have put on a submission bet and are not going to get that one in. Apologies, guys.
The boos fueled me, but at the end of it, there were cheers and they were real happy. That’s the fight business. They pick a side at the start, but by the end of it, we can all change it.
We’ve got plenty of time, we can go with somebody out there that wants to take it, somebody out there who wants to test my jiu-jitsu skills and I’m there, but we’re looking for a top 9, top 10, 8, somebody in that bracket.
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