The 27-year-old from North Carolina is finding that path right on time, and he expects to show it against Sato. And the fact that he’s doing it on the same night that a new pair of Ultimate Fighters are crowned, well, that’s just a coincidence, one that sits just right with Battle, who has been paying attention to the 30th season, even if he’s not completely caught up yet.
“I have to binge watch the second half of the season,” he laughs. “Me and my wife want to watch it together, so it’s one of those things where all the stars have to align before we get to watch it. But just seeing everyone in the house, and the house in and of itself, it’s like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ But the further I get away from it, the more I realize how much I learned from it. That’s the crazy thing.”
Being locked away from the world on a reality television show where you have to fight people to progress and win the competition is crazy, but it’s the kind of crazy Battle embraced, knowing that a win on TUF would accelerate his path to the UFC, and it did just that. And while things have been hectic since he first entered the house in Vegas, he’s trying to take everything in and take note of all the stories he’ll get to tell one day.
The Ultimate Fighter Season 30 Finalists: Episode 1 | Episode 2