“Last time I was here, I was basically on a job interview. There was no Coronavirus, so we could use the Performance Institute much more freely and without any restrictions, but now it’s a bit tight with all the rules and regulations. But it’s definitely a good experience nonetheless, even with all the restrictions and bans and stuff. It’s good to be back.”
He sailed through his job interview that night, and despite the contest being the only one on his professional record that went the distance, he points to the win as the most pivotal of his 10-1 career.
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“It showed me some new stuff. I learned new things about myself after that fight. Obviously, I’d never had a three-round war with a tough guy like Teddy Ash. First time in my career I’d experienced a three-round slugfest. I saw that my cardio can last for three rounds and still keep a high pace in the fight. That was definitely a new horizon for me. I didn’t know that. But that fight was a game-changing fight for me.”
It was enough to impress the bosses, and just over a year later, he was back to his finishing ways in his first official UFC tilt, where he stopped Dequan Townsend in the second round. His follow-up wasn’t as successful, as he found himself on the receiving end of a TKO delivered by Punahele Soriano this past January. It was his first professional loss, but surprisingly not the setback he feared it would be.