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00:00You know, probably one of the tougher losses you had before that as we set the stage for this great fight against Figueroa, you know, the Howard H.T. Davis fight.
00:06You had a great post after, you know, very positive, talking about how, you know, you were going to bounce back, how this is just, you know, you thank everybody for their support.
00:14It just wasn't your night.
00:15How did you feel, you know, with that fight?
00:17What did you feel going into it?
00:19How did you feel things were going early on?
00:21And, of course, you know, getting, unfortunately, finished the way you did.
00:24You know, what do you take from that fight as you have now moved forward and gotten a victory in your next one?
00:30Well, going into that fight, I felt like that fight was my championship fight.
00:34I feel Howard Davis is one of the best in the weight class, if not the best in the weight class, although I was upset with Kai Stewart.
00:42But I felt good going into that fight.
00:44I was in the best shape that I've ever been in, condition-wise and strength-wise.
00:49As you guys know, I don't fight at 155, but I take any fight that I can get.
00:55But I got in there.
00:56It felt good.
00:56He was fast, he was strong, and I didn't really land before I tried to get started.
01:03So he caught me early, he hurt me, and he stayed on me.
01:07I felt like, you know, it was a little bit of a quick stoppage, but the ref and the doctor had seen enough.
01:13So, you know, I can't really complain about that.
01:15But I felt like, you know, I wasn't really rocked.
01:18He flashed me a couple times, but I got up, and I was ready to fight.
01:22You were, but, you know, unfortunately, sometimes they step in there.
01:25I'm sorry, what was it?
01:27Yes, sir.
01:28I was just going to say that I learned a lot from that fight.
01:32Not, you know, things that I've already known, but I was, like, on a six-year winning streak.
01:37I hadn't lost in a while.
01:39And taking a loss really makes you take a step back and look at your holes and try to fix those holes and come back, you know, stronger the next time.
01:47So I learned a lot.
01:48I had fun.
01:49That was my most fun fight, honestly.
01:52And, you know, I'm always down.
01:54Win or lose, I'll show up.
01:55I'm ready to fight.
01:56Well, you know, you tried your best, and as you said, you were on a long win streak before that fight, both in MMA and in BKFC.
02:04You know, your MMA career didn't start out as you would obviously want, but you had really started to defend your groove there and then continued that into the BKFC.
02:12And then you come back in this fight against Figueroa.
02:14You talked about how important that fight was against Davis, and then you get Figueroa, who's another guy who was in the rankings, who was, you know, very highly ranked, very highly thought of.
02:22And you were coming in here on short notice.
02:25How did that come to be?
02:25Tell us what it was like when you got the call to fight him, what your thoughts were in jumping in there quick against another top guy like that, you know, coming off the loss, and how you were feeling going into the fight itself, which, you know, to me, you dominated.
02:37When I was scoring, watching at home, it was every round was him coming forward, and you just using that actual length, just pick him apart, pick him apart.
02:44And even the fifth there where a lot of guys would have been like, all right, I'm up four rounds.
02:48I don't need to do anything.
02:48Just don't get hit.
02:49You didn't coast.
02:50You tacked.
02:51You tried to put it on him.
02:52So how did you feel getting that call?
02:55How did they come together?
02:56And then how did you feel during that fight?
02:59Well, you know, I'm always in Andy's inbox begging him for fights.
03:05And I tell him I stay ready.
03:07You know, stay ready and got to get ready.
03:08So when I get the short notice calls, I'm already ready to go.
03:13Obviously, I wasn't like in fight shape, but in good shape.
03:18So I accepted happily.
03:19My coach was a little iffy about it, but I saw that I could win.
03:25He was a tough guy and a ranked guy, but still a good fight for me.
03:28We have similar styles.
03:29So, you know, I agreed to that immediately.
03:33I went out there at the weigh-ins.
03:36This guy had, like, killer in his eyes.
03:39Like, I saw no fear, no nervousness, nothing.
03:43So I already knew he was going to come and fight.
03:45But I got in there with him.
03:46And from his physique, I didn't think he was going to be stronger than I was.
03:50But I locked up with him.
03:51And that kid was definitely stronger than me.
03:54So I was like, you know what, I just wrestle.
03:56So I just use technique whenever we get in the clinch if I need to.
04:01He was hitting me with some good shots.
04:03Like, the first 30 seconds, he punched me in my eye.
04:05And I couldn't see anything.
04:06So I was kind of just swinging some wild ones out there, trying to keep him at bay.
04:10But I got my vision back and kept hammering him with my jab.
04:15And that kid just never went away.
04:17He just stayed in my face.
04:19I thought they were going to stop it because those cuts were nasty.
04:21But they never stopped it.
04:23And he was down to bang for five rounds.
04:26In my opinion, in the fight, I thought we were, like, pretty even.
04:30I wasn't really sure which way it was going to go.
04:33But I figured because of the damage that I had done that I would get the victory.
04:37And I did end up getting the victory.
04:38It was an awesome fight.
04:40And, man, that one's, you know, for the record books right there, that's history.
04:45And that one's, you know, for the record books right there, that's history.
04:46And that one's, you know, for the record books right there, that's history.
04:47And that one's, you know, for the record books right there, that's history.
04:48And that one's, you know, for the record books right there, that's history.
04:49And that one's, you know, for the record books right there, that's history.
04:50And that one's, you know, for the record books right there, that's history.
04:51And that one's, you know, for the record books right there, that's history.
04:52And that one's, you know, for the record books right there, that's history.
04:53And that one's, you know, for the record books right there, that's history.
04:54And that one's, you know, for the record books right there, that's history.