Tom Lawlor has been one of the most outspoken fighters against the UFC’s exclusive apparel deal with Reebok, so he knew what he was getting into at UFC on FOX 16.
Lawlor returned from a two-year absence to pick up a highlight-reel knockout over Gian Villante on Saturday’s preliminary card. While the win was a hugely important one for Lawlor, gone were the costumes and hijinks that fans have come to expect from the colorful TUF 8 veteran — though not from a lack of trying.
“When I got to Chicago, the biggest issue I ran into was dealing with the Reebok people,” Lawlor said Monday on The MMA Hour.
“My plan was to be Conor McGregor at the weigh-ins, so I had asked if I could wear the Conor McGregor fight kit. You know, they give you the Reebok stuff and they said, ‘do you have any questions?’ I said, ‘yes, I have a question. Can I wear Conor McGregor’s fight kit?’ And the way it was met, to me, was like, ‘why would you want to do that? Why would anyone want to do that? Don’t you want your family to buy these jerseys with your name on them?’ So right there, it clued me in that perhaps the people that were in charge of some of this stuff weren’t as familiar with the product as I would’ve liked.
“That’s what the fans know me as,” Lawlor continued. “Now, I don’t expect everybody who’s an MMA fan to know about me. There’s 500 guys in the UFC. Everybody has a different personality, stuff like that. But instead of saying, ‘okay, we’ll look into it,’ it was kind of like, I was insulted basically.”
Lawlor said the interaction left a sour taste in his mouth for all of fight week, further proving to him that, for better or worse, the UFC was just “not the same” that it was when he last fought two years ago.
Lawlor is infamous among MMA circles for his weigh-in and entrance characters, having spoofed legends like Dan Severn and Genki Sudo in the past. He noted that the familial feel of erstwhile events had been replaced by a more businesslike approach, one that surprised him even if he somewhat expected it.
Still, Lawlor found a creative way to get the laughs he wanted by bundling himself up in a mass of his free Reebok gear at UFC on FOX 16’s weigh-ins, à la Garth in Wayne’s World.
“I did not wear all of it,” Lawlor said, laughing. “There were, I think, two more pairs of socks and three more pairs of underwear, but it got to point where I felt like, okay, if I really go out there and put everything on in this bag, somebody might get pissed as me. There might be some backlash, so let me tone it down a little bit. I was actually at one point going to put another pair of shoes on my hands and walk out with those on all fours like Khabib Nurmagomedov’s buddy, the bear. But unfortunately I’ve got to save something for the future for now.”
Lawlor is a diehard fan of pro wrestling, so the entertainment side of the game is something that comes naturally to him. Nonetheless, he also couldn’t help but notice how the shift in tone to UFC on FOX 16’s fight week led to one of the best performances of his career.
Lawlor folded Villante with a right hand haymaker just 27 seconds into the bout’s second round, earning a $50,000 ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus and resubmitting his name to the light heavyweight fray.
“[The costumes are] part of the fun, but I’ll kind of let the result and the performance speak for itself at the end of the day,” Lawlor said. “Maybe I shouldn’t be looking to have fun? Maybe this isn’t a fun time, maybe I’ve just had it all wrong for the past few years? You never know.
“At the post-fight press conference, I even mentioned that perhaps this Reebok deal, had it been done a few years sooner, I’d be in an even better position in my fight career. All the times that I haven’t done walkouts, I’ve won all those fights. So you know, I have to look at it kind of from that standpoint now.”
Lawlor has now finished three of his past four UFC fights, with his lone loss coming in a controversial split decision to Francis Carmont. A little more luck and he could’ve been riding a four-fight win streak.
That kind of run is exactly what Lawlor had in mind when he mentioned his desire to prove he’s not a joke in his post-fight speech with Joe Rogan.
“I’m getting a little long in the tooth, and it’s time to make people realize that I put a lot of hard work, I put a lot of dedication into this craft,” Lawlor said. “I’ve doing it for years and years and years, basically since I was a teenager, since I was 12 years old. I saw UFC 2, and I’ve been building up to these moments my entire life. I don’t want to be looked at as a guy who just went out there and squandered opportunities.”
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Tom Lawlor has been one of the most outspoken fighters against the UFC’s exclusive apparel deal with Reebok, so he knew what he was getting into at UFC on FOX 16.
Lawlor returned from a two-year absence to pick up a highlight-reel knockout over Gian Villante on Saturday’s preliminary card. While the win was a hugely important one for Lawlor, gone were the costumes and hijinks that fans have come to expect from the colorful TUF 8 veteran — though not from a lack of trying.
“When I got to Chicago, the biggest issue I ran into was dealing with the Reebok people,” Lawlor said Monday on The MMA Hour.
“My plan was to be Conor McGregor at the weigh-ins, so I had asked if I could wear the Conor McGregor fight kit. You know, they give you the Reebok stuff and they said, ‘do you have any questions?’ I said, ‘yes, I have a question. Can I wear Conor McGregor’s fight kit?’ And the way it was met, to me, was like, ‘why would you want to do that? Why would anyone want to do that? Don’t you want your family to buy these jerseys with your name on them?’ So right there, it clued me in that perhaps the people that were in charge of some of this stuff weren’t as familiar with the product as I would’ve liked.
“That’s what the fans know me as,” Lawlor continued. “Now, I don’t expect everybody who’s an MMA fan to know about me. There’s 500 guys in the UFC. Everybody has a different personality, stuff like that. But instead of saying, ‘okay, we’ll look into it,’ it was kind of like, I was insulted basically.”
Lawlor said the interaction left a sour taste in his mouth for all of fight week, further proving to him that, for better or worse, the UFC was just “not the same” that it was when he last fought two years ago.
Lawlor is infamous among MMA circles for his weigh-in and entrance characters, having spoofed legends like Dan Severn and Genki Sudo in the past. He noted that the familial feel of erstwhile events had been replaced by a more businesslike approach, one that surprised him even if he somewhat expected it.
Still, Lawlor found a creative way to get the laughs he wanted by bundling himself up in a mass of his free Reebok gear at UFC on FOX 16’s weigh-ins, à la Garth in Wayne’s World.
“I did not wear all of it,” Lawlor said, laughing. “There were, I think, two more pairs of socks and three more pairs of underwear, but it got to point where I felt like, okay, if I really go out there and put everything on in this bag, somebody might get pissed as me. There might be some backlash, so let me tone it down a little bit. I was actually at one point going to put another pair of shoes on my hands and walk out with those on all fours like Khabib Nurmagomedov’s buddy, the bear. But unfortunately I’ve got to save something for the future for now.”
Lawlor is a diehard fan of pro wrestling, so the entertainment side of the game is something that comes naturally to him. Nonetheless, he also couldn’t help but notice how the shift in tone to UFC on FOX 16’s fight week led to one of the best performances of his career.
Lawlor folded Villante with a right hand haymaker just 27 seconds into the bout’s second round, earning a $50,000 ‘Performance of the Night’ bonus and resubmitting his name to the light heavyweight fray.
“[The costumes are] part of the fun, but I’ll kind of let the result and the performance speak for itself at the end of the day,” Lawlor said. “Maybe I shouldn’t be looking to have fun? Maybe this isn’t a fun time, maybe I’ve just had it all wrong for the past few years? You never know.
“At the post-fight press conference, I even mentioned that perhaps this Reebok deal, had it been done a few years sooner, I’d be in an even better position in my fight career. All the times that I haven’t done walkouts, I’ve won all those fights. So you know, I have to look at it kind of from that standpoint now.”
Lawlor has now finished three of his past four UFC fights, with his lone loss coming in a controversial split decision to Francis Carmont. A little more luck and he could’ve been riding a four-fight win streak.
That kind of run is exactly what Lawlor had in mind when he mentioned his desire to prove he’s not a joke in his post-fight speech with Joe Rogan.
“I’m getting a little long in the tooth, and it’s time to make people realize that I put a lot of hard work, I put a lot of dedication into this craft,” Lawlor said. “I’ve doing it for years and years and years, basically since I was a teenager, since I was 12 years old. I saw UFC 2, and I’ve been building up to these moments my entire life. I don’t want to be looked at as a guy who just went out there and squandered opportunities.”
Dominick Cruz may still be rehabilitating a torn ACL in his right knee, but his name seemed to be the only one on everyone’s lips post-UFC on FOX 16.
After handily defeating Renan Barao for a second time on Saturday night, UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw turned his sights directly towards Cruz, calling out the division’s former kingpin who last year vacated the belt due to a series of debilitating injuries. Cruz and Dillashaw’s styles are often compared — both rely heavily on unique movement and angles, and a fight between the two is currently one of the most intriguing stylistic match-ups in the sport.
But if Monday was any indication, Cruz is getting sick of hearing those comparisons.
The normally mild-mannered ex-champion pulled zero punches on The MMA Hour, peppering a surprisingly contentious and candid conversation with shots at Dillashaw, including calling Dillashaw “nothing but a wannabe” for imitating certain aspects of Cruz’s style. From the outset it was clear there is no love lost between the two rivals, and Cruz’s unabridged thoughts can be read below.
On Dillashaw’s second victory over Barao
“The sport is evolving and the guys who aren’t choosing to evolve with the sport are getting beaten. I never thought Barao was as good as everybody said he was, but I couldn’t say that because I’ve been on the sidelines and Dana White was preaching about him like he was the next Jesus incoming. So you’ve just kind of got to hear what Dana says and let him say what he wants about people to build the 135-pound division.
“With me gone, let’s face it: they needed to build anybody they could in that slot. Barao was the guy who needed to be built because I wasn’t there. Then T.J. came up, and he’s the guy who’s got to be built because I’m not there. That being said, the division has just been trying to strive and build with me gone — now that I’m coming back, it can get back on it’s feet again. That’s the truth.”
On the comparisons between Dillashaw’s style and his own
“I see absolutely no similarities between my fighting style and T.J. Dillashaw’s. And the reason I say that is: we do different things. He’s switching stances and I’m not. I’m doing something totally different that nobody understands. I don’t know if you remember this, but you could watch my fights and listen to the commentary on my fights four years ago. When I was doing things, it was ‘awkward, herky jerky, never seen before.’ It was just ‘weird.’ I got this ‘weird style that doesn’t make sense.’ Four years have gone by. People can get a degree in four years, so the game has changed in the last four years. Now you’re hearing the commentary about T.J. Dillashaw moving his feet, using feints and switching stances, and instead of being awkward, different, and weird, it’s beautiful to everybody else.
“Now, my style is being appreciated. When I go out there, people will see T.J. Dillashaw is nothing but a wannabe, and I look forward to going out there and proving that I’m the best in the world. I’m in an extremely awkward position where, you can only talk so much and only be so confident on the outside … when you can’t go out there and compete. So there’s only so much I can really say, you know? I have to sit on my words right now. I have to sit on my hands, because I’m injured. And that’s all you ever hear Twitter. ‘Oh yeah, keep talking Dominick as you sit on the sidelines. You’re nothing but a hurt individual.’ These are the things that people are saying, so this is the way the general public is thinking when I talk.
“That being said, I’m very careful with the words that I choose, because I can’t go in there and compete quite yet. T.J. Dillashaw is out there competing, so kudos to him for staying healthy and being able to keep the division rolling. But when I come back, the real fights are going to get started and people are going to see what this division is really capable of with me as the champion.”
On the frustration of not being able to disprove those comparisons
“When people make a statement about me, or when people make a comparison, they don’t know what they’re comparing. Like I said, four years ago when I used this style, nobody knew what it was. I had coaches, I had Joe Rogan, I had all these people saying that I was just awkward and weird. Now it’s a style, because T.J. Dillashaw took feints, footwork, and switching stance from the style that I created — those are the only three things that he took from it — now it’s become something that’s respectable.
“So I gotta say, it’s a good thing T.J. went out there and kept fighting and kept getting famous and kept winning, because now, when I come back, I have a match. I cleaned out the division four years ago. Cleaned it out. And it hasn’t changed. The division really has not changed much. Urijah Faber could have the title right now but he’s scared to fight T.J. and get beat by him, so he’s just going to stay in the miscellaneous floating area. Then you have (Raphael) Assuncao, who’s hurt. So really it’s just been Barao and T.J. who are there to fight. I haven’t fought those two, but other than that, I’ve beaten almost everybody else in the division or they’ve dropped to 125 pounds.”
On a potential date for his return
“I’m looking to be back at the New Year, that’s my goal. The New Year is my goal. Either that first New Year card or the one before it. If my knee is not feeling good by then, then I’ll push it back. But the truth is, I don’t need to say an exact date because I have nothing that I need to hold up on. I’m not the champion right now. I’m not in the top-five rankings right now. I don’t have anything that people are waiting for to try to take from me, except my fame. So when I come back, the only thing T.J. is looking for is my fame, to bite off of it because nobody believes he’s champion right now.
“They think he’s good, but they don’t believe he’s champion, and that’s why they couldn’t sell the fight in Chicago. The gate was terrible in Chicago with Renan Barao and T.J. Dillashaw. They couldn’t sell it. One, they knew that it was a perfect match-up for T.J. Two, they know that T.J. is just using things that I’ve used to be successful. He admitted that. And three, they knew that was a perfect style match-up for T.J. against Renan Barao to give him another win under his belt. If you look at the wins that T.J. has had, he doesn’t know if he’s a champion yet. He has to fight me to believe it.
“He only beat Renan Barao. That’s the only guy in the top-five he’s beaten. He lost to Assuncao — Assuncao was in the top-five when he lost to him. He lost to John Dodson when John Dodson was in the top-five. He’s only beaten Renan Barao. He beat Joe Soto who’s now, is he even in the UFC anymore? That’s my point. He hasn’t fought anybody to be a champion. T.J. Dillashaw still needs to fight somebody as good as me to even believe in himself. He has no clue what he’s facing and he has no clue what it is to face a real champion, because he got given an opportunity from me being hurt. Renan was already an interim belt holder, and then he beat the interim belt holder to think he’s champion. I don’t think so. He’s lucky I’ve been hurt.”
On Dillashaw’s FOX Sports 1 trash talk
“He can say all of that. That’s the same stuff that everybody’s said. What does Faber say? ‘He doesn’t hit hard, I’m going to beat him up.’ He didn’t do none of that. What did Scott Jorgensen say? ‘I’m going to outwrestle him, I’m a better D-1 wrestler, he doesn’t hit hard, I’m going to cut off the cage and beat him.’ What did Joseph Benavidez say? ‘I’m going to switch stances, I throw switch kicks, I’m going to throw high kicks, I’ll mix in my wrestling, I’ve got a good guillotine, I’m going to submit or I’m going to knock him out.’ What did Demetrious Johnson say? ‘I’m going to keep him moving backwards, I’m going to cut off the cage, I’m going to switch stances, I’m going to keep moving, I’m going to knock him out, he doesn’t hit hard.’
“What is T.J. Dillashaw saying? ‘I hit harder, I’m going to knock him out, he thinks he’s champion, he’s not.’ It’s all the same stuff. This guy doesn’t even know what he’s talking about. He learned the style that he won a championship with by watching me fight. He learned from me. Just like we see kids dunking the basketball with their tongue out, trying to be Michael Jordan, you see T.J. Dillashaw trying to switch stances, trying to look like Dominick Cruz. That’s all there is to it. He needs me, to be who he is.
“The bottom line is, I make his career worth anything. I’m the only fight he needs to be worth anything. So he should be thanking me for being out as long as I have, because it’s given him the chance to have a spotlight. Otherwise he’d just still be the least of alphas at Team Alpha Fail.”
Dominick Cruz may still be rehabilitating a torn ACL in his right knee, but his name seemed to be the only one on everyone’s lips post-UFC on FOX 16.
After handily defeating Renan Barao for a second time on Saturday night, UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw turned his sights directly towards Cruz, calling out the division’s former kingpin who last year vacated the belt due to a series of debilitating injuries. Cruz and Dillashaw’s styles are often compared — both rely heavily on unique movement and angles, and a fight between the two is currently one of the most intriguing stylistic match-ups in the sport.
But if Monday was any indication, Cruz is getting sick of hearing those comparisons.
The normally mild-mannered ex-champion pulled zero punches on The MMA Hour, peppering a surprisingly contentious and candid conversation with shots at Dillashaw, including calling Dillashaw “nothing but a wannabe” for imitating certain aspects of Cruz’s style. From the outset it was clear there is no love lost between the two rivals, and Cruz’s unabridged thoughts can be read below.
On Dillashaw’s second victory over Barao
“The sport is evolving and the guys who aren’t choosing to evolve with the sport are getting beaten. I never thought Barao was as good as everybody said he was, but I couldn’t say that because I’ve been on the sidelines and Dana White was preaching about him like he was the next Jesus incoming. So you’ve just kind of got to hear what Dana says and let him say what he wants about people to build the 135-pound division.
“With me gone, let’s face it: they needed to build anybody they could in that slot. Barao was the guy who needed to be built because I wasn’t there. Then T.J. came up, and he’s the guy who’s got to be built because I’m not there. That being said, the division has just been trying to strive and build with me gone — now that I’m coming back, it can get back on it’s feet again. That’s the truth.”
On the comparisons between Dillashaw’s style and his own
“I see absolutely no similarities between my fighting style and T.J. Dillashaw’s. And the reason I say that is: we do different things. He’s switching stances and I’m not. I’m doing something totally different that nobody understands. I don’t know if you remember this, but you could watch my fights and listen to the commentary on my fights four years ago. When I was doing things, it was ‘awkward, herky jerky, never seen before.’ It was just ‘weird.’ I got this ‘weird style that doesn’t make sense.’ Four years have gone by. People can get a degree in four years, so the game has changed in the last four years. Now you’re hearing the commentary about T.J. Dillashaw moving his feet, using feints and switching stances, and instead of being awkward, different, and weird, it’s beautiful to everybody else.
“Now, my style is being appreciated. When I go out there, people will see T.J. Dillashaw is nothing but a wannabe, and I look forward to going out there and proving that I’m the best in the world. I’m in an extremely awkward position where, you can only talk so much and only be so confident on the outside … when you can’t go out there and compete. So there’s only so much I can really say, you know? I have to sit on my words right now. I have to sit on my hands, because I’m injured. And that’s all you ever hear Twitter. ‘Oh yeah, keep talking Dominick as you sit on the sidelines. You’re nothing but a hurt individual.’ These are the things that people are saying, so this is the way the general public is thinking when I talk.
“That being said, I’m very careful with the words that I choose, because I can’t go in there and compete quite yet. T.J. Dillashaw is out there competing, so kudos to him for staying healthy and being able to keep the division rolling. But when I come back, the real fights are going to get started and people are going to see what this division is really capable of with me as the champion.”
On the frustration of not being able to disprove those comparisons
“When people make a statement about me, or when people make a comparison, they don’t know what they’re comparing. Like I said, four years ago when I used this style, nobody knew what it was. I had coaches, I had Joe Rogan, I had all these people saying that I was just awkward and weird. Now it’s a style, because T.J. Dillashaw took feints, footwork, and switching stance from the style that I created — those are the only three things that he took from it — now it’s become something that’s respectable.
“So I gotta say, it’s a good thing T.J. went out there and kept fighting and kept getting famous and kept winning, because now, when I come back, I have a match. I cleaned out the division four years ago. Cleaned it out. And it hasn’t changed. The division really has not changed much. Urijah Faber could have the title right now but he’s scared to fight T.J. and get beat by him, so he’s just going to stay in the miscellaneous floating area. Then you have (Raphael) Assuncao, who’s hurt. So really it’s just been Barao and T.J. who are there to fight. I haven’t fought those two, but other than that, I’ve beaten almost everybody else in the division or they’ve dropped to 125 pounds.”
On a potential date for his return
“I’m looking to be back at the New Year, that’s my goal. The New Year is my goal. Either that first New Year card or the one before it. If my knee is not feeling good by then, then I’ll push it back. But the truth is, I don’t need to say an exact date because I have nothing that I need to hold up on. I’m not the champion right now. I’m not in the top-five rankings right now. I don’t have anything that people are waiting for to try to take from me, except my fame. So when I come back, the only thing T.J. is looking for is my fame, to bite off of it because nobody believes he’s champion right now.
“They think he’s good, but they don’t believe he’s champion, and that’s why they couldn’t sell the fight in Chicago. The gate was terrible in Chicago with Renan Barao and T.J. Dillashaw. They couldn’t sell it. One, they knew that it was a perfect match-up for T.J. Two, they know that T.J. is just using things that I’ve used to be successful. He admitted that. And three, they knew that was a perfect style match-up for T.J. against Renan Barao to give him another win under his belt. If you look at the wins that T.J. has had, he doesn’t know if he’s a champion yet. He has to fight me to believe it.
“He only beat Renan Barao. That’s the only guy in the top-five he’s beaten. He lost to Assuncao — Assuncao was in the top-five when he lost to him. He lost to John Dodson when John Dodson was in the top-five. He’s only beaten Renan Barao. He beat Joe Soto who’s now, is he even in the UFC anymore? That’s my point. He hasn’t fought anybody to be a champion. T.J. Dillashaw still needs to fight somebody as good as me to even believe in himself. He has no clue what he’s facing and he has no clue what it is to face a real champion, because he got given an opportunity from me being hurt. Renan was already an interim belt holder, and then he beat the interim belt holder to think he’s champion. I don’t think so. He’s lucky I’ve been hurt.”
On Dillashaw’s FOX Sports 1 trash talk
“He can say all of that. That’s the same stuff that everybody’s said. What does Faber say? ‘He doesn’t hit hard, I’m going to beat him up.’ He didn’t do none of that. What did Scott Jorgensen say? ‘I’m going to outwrestle him, I’m a better D-1 wrestler, he doesn’t hit hard, I’m going to cut off the cage and beat him.’ What did Joseph Benavidez say? ‘I’m going to switch stances, I throw switch kicks, I’m going to throw high kicks, I’ll mix in my wrestling, I’ve got a good guillotine, I’m going to submit or I’m going to knock him out.’ What did Demetrious Johnson say? ‘I’m going to keep him moving backwards, I’m going to cut off the cage, I’m going to switch stances, I’m going to keep moving, I’m going to knock him out, he doesn’t hit hard.’
“What is T.J. Dillashaw saying? ‘I hit harder, I’m going to knock him out, he thinks he’s champion, he’s not.’ It’s all the same stuff. This guy doesn’t even know what he’s talking about. He learned the style that he won a championship with by watching me fight. He learned from me. Just like we see kids dunking the basketball with their tongue out, trying to be Michael Jordan, you see T.J. Dillashaw trying to switch stances, trying to look like Dominick Cruz. That’s all there is to it. He needs me, to be who he is.
“The bottom line is, I make his career worth anything. I’m the only fight he needs to be worth anything. So he should be thanking me for being out as long as I have, because it’s given him the chance to have a spotlight. Otherwise he’d just still be the least of alphas at Team Alpha Fail.”
Stevie Ray couldn’t have scripted a better homecoming. Ray was one of three Scottish fighters to pick up victories at UFC Fight Night 72, sandwiching a beatdown of Leonardo Mafra between Robert Whiteford’s fevered party starter and Joanne Calderwood’s electric comeback. Each hometown win whipped the Scottish crowd even further into a frenzy, and days later, Ray was still speechless when asked to describe the first UFC event ever held in his native country.
“It still feels surreal. I don’t even think it’s properly sunk in yet. It’s just crazy,” Ray said Monday on The MMA Hour.
“I just can’t believe the whole experience. Even when I woke up this morning, I was scared I was going to wake up and it’s just all been a dream.”
A promising 25-year-old lightweight prospect, Ray dispatched TUF Brazil’s Mafra with a volley of strikes in just under three minutes, pushing his UFC record to a perfect 2-0 and helping to complete Scotland’s flawless night.
The win was special in and of itself, but even more so considering the nightmarish lead-up he had to overcome.
Just four weeks out from fight night, Ray took a motorcycle training course and ended up involved in a nasty accident, nearly sinking his dream before it could even start.
“I slammed the brakes on, basically slid straight away, and, still going about 40 miles per hour, came flying right off the bike,” Ray said. “I just remember sliding down the road. My left knee took most of the impact, and yeah, I’m flying 40 miles per hour. There’s cars behind me. There’s cars coming towards me, because I’m sliding on the other side of the road. It’s one of those feelings, I thought I was going to die.”
Ray escaped from the accident swollen and beaten, but incredibly without any broken bones or torn ligaments. Still, it took him several weeks to return to a regular training schedule, and once he did, he suffered an additional injury to his lower back that severely hampered his abilities to wrestle, grapple, or even kick.
Through it all though, he never doubted that he’d make that walk for his countrymen.
“I’ve never, ever pulled out of a fight,” Ray said. “Knock on wood. I’ve had loads of [small injuries] before, where I’ve been a little bit sore. But I would never pull out of a fight unless I broke my leg or something. I just try and keep it quiet and do what I can. But I kept saying to myself throughout this whole camp, even with [the injuries], ‘I’ll just need to work around it,’ which I did. ‘I’ve done everything I could, and on fight night I’ll not feel it. The adrenaline will hide the pain.'”
Not only did Ray persevere to score the biggest win of his career, but his performance also netted him a post-fight bonus to the tune of $50,000.
For a fighter who speaks openly about having been on welfare off-and-on before his UFC career, and for a father who still juggles the responsibilities of providing for his fiancé and three children on an entry-level wage, Ray couldn’t help but be floored by the sum.
“I was just absolutely overwhelmed and couldn’t believe it,” Ray said. “Sometimes I think it’s still not even sunk in, the fact that I’ve won $50,000. I’ve probably never made that in my entire work career, if I had to add up every single piece of money I’ve ever made from when I started working, I’ve not made that. So it’s just unbelievable. I think I’m scared to spend it.”
Ray plans to use his performance bonus to help buy a house for his family. In the meantime, he already has his eyes set on his next foe.
He hopes to fight TUF Smashes winner and fellow U.K. resident Norman Parke at October’s show in Dublin, Ireland — and he wouldn’t be surprised if years down the line, an army of Scottish fighters emerge to take over the scene just as the Irish are doing now.
“I reckon after that show, there’s a lot of people saying ‘I’m going to start training MMA,'” Ray said. “Even me, JoJo, and Rob getting signed to the UFC, I think that’s given a lot of the other fighters encouragement because, I mean, we’ve got a lot of pro fighters in our gym. Some of them kick my ass and they’re not in the UFC, so I think over the next few years, you’re going to see a lot more Scottish fighters in the UFC, we’ve got a lot of prospects and stuff as well.
“So I think it’s going to explode. It just feels unbelievable and amazing to be part of it.”
Stevie Ray couldn’t have scripted a better homecoming. Ray was one of three Scottish fighters to pick up victories at UFC Fight Night 72, sandwiching a beatdown of Leonardo Mafra between Robert Whiteford’s fevered party starter and Joanne Calderwood’s electric comeback. Each hometown win whipped the Scottish crowd even further into a frenzy, and days later, Ray was still speechless when asked to describe the first UFC event ever held in his native country.
“It still feels surreal. I don’t even think it’s properly sunk in yet. It’s just crazy,” Ray said Monday on The MMA Hour.
“I just can’t believe the whole experience. Even when I woke up this morning, I was scared I was going to wake up and it’s just all been a dream.”
A promising 25-year-old lightweight prospect, Ray dispatched TUF Brazil’s Mafra with a volley of strikes in just under three minutes, pushing his UFC record to a perfect 2-0 and helping to complete Scotland’s flawless night.
The win was special in and of itself, but even more so considering the nightmarish lead-up he had to overcome.
Just four weeks out from fight night, Ray took a motorcycle training course and ended up involved in a nasty accident, nearly sinking his dream before it could even start.
“I slammed the brakes on, basically slid straight away, and, still going about 40 miles per hour, came flying right off the bike,” Ray said. “I just remember sliding down the road. My left knee took most of the impact, and yeah, I’m flying 40 miles per hour. There’s cars behind me. There’s cars coming towards me, because I’m sliding on the other side of the road. It’s one of those feelings, I thought I was going to die.”
Ray escaped from the accident swollen and beaten, but incredibly without any broken bones or torn ligaments. Still, it took him several weeks to return to a regular training schedule, and once he did, he suffered an additional injury to his lower back that severely hampered his abilities to wrestle, grapple, or even kick.
Through it all though, he never doubted that he’d make that walk for his countrymen.
“I’ve never, ever pulled out of a fight,” Ray said. “Knock on wood. I’ve had loads of [small injuries] before, where I’ve been a little bit sore. But I would never pull out of a fight unless I broke my leg or something. I just try and keep it quiet and do what I can. But I kept saying to myself throughout this whole camp, even with [the injuries], ‘I’ll just need to work around it,’ which I did. ‘I’ve done everything I could, and on fight night I’ll not feel it. The adrenaline will hide the pain.'”
Not only did Ray persevere to score the biggest win of his career, but his performance also netted him a post-fight bonus to the tune of $50,000.
For a fighter who speaks openly about having been on welfare off-and-on before his UFC career, and for a father who still juggles the responsibilities of providing for his fiancé and three children on an entry-level wage, Ray couldn’t help but be floored by the sum.
“I was just absolutely overwhelmed and couldn’t believe it,” Ray said. “Sometimes I think it’s still not even sunk in, the fact that I’ve won $50,000. I’ve probably never made that in my entire work career, if I had to add up every single piece of money I’ve ever made from when I started working, I’ve not made that. So it’s just unbelievable. I think I’m scared to spend it.”
Ray plans to use his performance bonus to help buy a house for his family. In the meantime, he already has his eyes set on his next foe.
He hopes to fight TUF Smashes winner and fellow U.K. resident Norman Parke at October’s show in Dublin, Ireland — and he wouldn’t be surprised if years down the line, an army of Scottish fighters emerge to take over the scene just as the Irish are doing now.
“I reckon after that show, there’s a lot of people saying ‘I’m going to start training MMA,'” Ray said. “Even me, JoJo, and Rob getting signed to the UFC, I think that’s given a lot of the other fighters encouragement because, I mean, we’ve got a lot of pro fighters in our gym. Some of them kick my ass and they’re not in the UFC, so I think over the next few years, you’re going to see a lot more Scottish fighters in the UFC, we’ve got a lot of prospects and stuff as well.
“So I think it’s going to explode. It just feels unbelievable and amazing to be part of it.”
Heading into UFC 189, Conor McGregor’s father assured those closest to him that his son held all of the aces. While the last-second opponent switch from Jose Aldo to Chad Mendes had been far from ideal, McGregor was the one who had a full training camp, and McGregor was the one who looked nigh unstoppable for four years and counting.
But then the music faded, Sinead O’Connor descended back into the bowels of the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and the Mendes takedown train starting roaring. One after another they came, planting the fighting pride of Ireland on his back for the first time ever in the UFC. And suddenly with each hard elbow that blasted their boy in the jaw, the McGregor contingent couldn’t help the feeling of those aces slipping from their hands.
“I must say I was quite worried,” McGregor’s father, Tony, admitted Monday on The MMA Hour. “I went into shock when I saw him getting tossed around the Octagon by Chad. We didn’t expect that at all. It was completely new to us and it was completely new to the fans as well. I was speaking to the fans after and they told me that they cried during that.
“I went into shock. My wife Margaret, she panicked and fled the arena, she ran into the back. Her two sisters were huddled into each other hysterical, and (Conor’s girlfriend) Dee (Devlin), I think Dee was rooted to the spot crying as well, and this was all in the first round.”
We know now, of course, that any of Conor’s early danger was simply a preamble to his latest masterpiece. “The Notorious” answered Mendes’ assault with a steady procession of body kicks plus a few grins, then finished his wearied opponent with a salvo of punches late in the second round, capturing Conor the UFC’s interim featherweight title.
The moment was the culmination of a two-year rise like few we’ve ever witnessed in the UFC, one personified by equal parts bravado, perseverance and prediction — and looking back, even Tony couldn’t have foreseen such greatness from his young son.
“He had a determination about him, but the remarkable thing about it is, he was unremarkable, if you know what I mean,” Tony said of his son’s childhood. “That’s the remarkable thing about it. He was a normal kid. He was going to school in junior high school. He would just come home, do his homework, team up with his buddies after homework and kick a ball about.”
It’s an improbable story, the path from unmotivated apprentice plumber to UFC superstar. And Tony certainly wasn’t sold at first.
When his son first announced that he was quitting his plumbing career to instead focus on professional cagefighting, Tony fought hard to change his mind. Conor likes to say the two ultimately came to blows over it, and while Tony denies that claim, he does acknowledge that it took him much longer to come around than Conor’s mother.
But eventually he did come around, and one moment early in his son’s career confirmed beyond any shadow of a doubt that he had made the right decision.
“You must remember, he was only a boy to me at the time,” Tony reflected. “I remember he was fighting some guy and his opponent dropped out for some reason or another, and on the night there was this big eastern European guy put in his place. So when they announced him, the eastern European guy came out to the lights and the music, and I just saw this guy. ‘Oh my goodness, this is some opponent.’ I couldn’t see Conor going through this guy.
“Conor just dispatched him in minutes in the ring. So I knew. That was the defining moment. If there was ever a defining moment, that was it for me. Incidentally it was also the moment in my eyes when he became a man.
“From then on, I knew. I actually knew then, he had a million dollar left hook. And I used to say that when I was driving around my taxi (at work). Conor was unheard of at the time, he was unknown outside of the immediate MMA circle. And I used to say, if I met a nice guy bringing them home in the taxi and they had an interest in sport, I used to tell them to about my son — to remember the name Conor McGregor, he has a million dollar left hook.”
Tony became one of Conor’s most ardent supporters from that point on, backing his son’s career choices even as Conor was struggling on welfare, fighting for a look from the UFC.
There were ups and down along the way, as there are with any future champion. But no mattered how many times he imagined it, no moment prepared Tony for the final climatic minutes of UFC 189, when UFC President Dana White wrapped a golden belt around his son’s waist, and Conor’s emotional family broke down into tears behind him — the culmination of an agreement that was brokered long before, when Conor was teetering on the verge of quitting the sport.
“It a deal that went back maybe six or seven years ago,” Tony said. “It was a deal between John (Kavanagh) and Margaret that when he wins the UFC championship, that Margaret will be in the ring when he’s accepting the belt. So that pledge was honored on the 11th of July this year. It was really an amazing, very poignant moment for the whole family.
“It’s great to see a young man who can defy convention and defy his family and come through in such a short time to realize his dream,” Tony added. “It’s an amazing story, and we’re immensely proud.”
Heading into UFC 189, Conor McGregor’s father assured those closest to him that his son held all of the aces. While the last-second opponent switch from Jose Aldo to Chad Mendes had been far from ideal, McGregor was the one who had a full training camp, and McGregor was the one who looked nigh unstoppable for four years and counting.
But then the music faded, Sinead O’Connor descended back into the bowels of the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and the Mendes takedown train starting roaring. One after another they came, planting the fighting pride of Ireland on his back for the first time ever in the UFC. And suddenly with each hard elbow that blasted their boy in the jaw, the McGregor contingent couldn’t help the feeling of those aces slipping from their hands.
“I must say I was quite worried,” McGregor’s father, Tony, admitted Monday on The MMA Hour. “I went into shock when I saw him getting tossed around the Octagon by Chad. We didn’t expect that at all. It was completely new to us and it was completely new to the fans as well. I was speaking to the fans after and they told me that they cried during that.
“I went into shock. My wife Margaret, she panicked and fled the arena, she ran into the back. Her two sisters were huddled into each other hysterical, and (Conor’s girlfriend) Dee (Devlin), I think Dee was rooted to the spot crying as well, and this was all in the first round.”
We know now, of course, that any of Conor’s early danger was simply a preamble to his latest masterpiece. “The Notorious” answered Mendes’ assault with a steady procession of body kicks plus a few grins, then finished his wearied opponent with a salvo of punches late in the second round, capturing Conor the UFC’s interim featherweight title.
The moment was the culmination of a two-year rise like few we’ve ever witnessed in the UFC, one personified by equal parts bravado, perseverance and prediction — and looking back, even Tony couldn’t have foreseen such greatness from his young son.
“He had a determination about him, but the remarkable thing about it is, he was unremarkable, if you know what I mean,” Tony said of his son’s childhood. “That’s the remarkable thing about it. He was a normal kid. He was going to school in junior high school. He would just come home, do his homework, team up with his buddies after homework and kick a ball about.”
It’s an improbable story, the path from unmotivated apprentice plumber to UFC superstar. And Tony certainly wasn’t sold at first.
When his son first announced that he was quitting his plumbing career to instead focus on professional cagefighting, Tony fought hard to change his mind. Conor likes to say the two ultimately came to blows over it, and while Tony denies that claim, he does acknowledge that it took him much longer to come around than Conor’s mother.
But eventually he did come around, and one moment early in his son’s career confirmed beyond any shadow of a doubt that he had made the right decision.
“You must remember, he was only a boy to me at the time,” Tony reflected. “I remember he was fighting some guy and his opponent dropped out for some reason or another, and on the night there was this big eastern European guy put in his place. So when they announced him, the eastern European guy came out to the lights and the music, and I just saw this guy. ‘Oh my goodness, this is some opponent.’ I couldn’t see Conor going through this guy.
“Conor just dispatched him in minutes in the ring. So I knew. That was the defining moment. If there was ever a defining moment, that was it for me. Incidentally it was also the moment in my eyes when he became a man.
“From then on, I knew. I actually knew then, he had a million dollar left hook. And I used to say that when I was driving around my taxi (at work). Conor was unheard of at the time, he was unknown outside of the immediate MMA circle. And I used to say, if I met a nice guy bringing them home in the taxi and they had an interest in sport, I used to tell them to about my son — to remember the name Conor McGregor, he has a million dollar left hook.”
Tony became one of Conor’s most ardent supporters from that point on, backing his son’s career choices even as Conor was struggling on welfare, fighting for a look from the UFC.
There were ups and down along the way, as there are with any future champion. But no mattered how many times he imagined it, no moment prepared Tony for the final climatic minutes of UFC 189, when UFC President Dana White wrapped a golden belt around his son’s waist, and Conor’s emotional family broke down into tears behind him — the culmination of an agreement that was brokered long before, when Conor was teetering on the verge of quitting the sport.
“It a deal that went back maybe six or seven years ago,” Tony said. “It was a deal between John (Kavanagh) and Margaret that when he wins the UFC championship, that Margaret will be in the ring when he’s accepting the belt. So that pledge was honored on the 11th of July this year. It was really an amazing, very poignant moment for the whole family.
“It’s great to see a young man who can defy convention and defy his family and come through in such a short time to realize his dream,” Tony added. “It’s an amazing story, and we’re immensely proud.”
U FC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barao 2 took place July 25, 2015 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Lightweight contenders Edson Barboza (16-3) and Paul Felder (10-1) collided in an anticipated main card battle, which aired live on FOX Sports 1. Catch the video highlights above.
For more on Barboza vs. Felder, catch the play-by-play by MMAFighting.com’s own Luke Thomas.
Round 1: Both fighters open orthodox. Felder lands first, with an outside leg kick. He also joins it with a left hook. Barboza throws two body kick and throws a high kick, too….
U FC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barao 2 took place July 25, 2015 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Lightweight contenders Edson Barboza (16-3) and Paul Felder (10-1) collided in an anticipated main card battle, which aired live on FOX Sports 1. Catch the video highlights above.
For more on Barboza vs. Felder, catch the play-by-play by MMAFighting.com’s own Luke Thomas.
Round 1: Both fighters open orthodox. Felder lands first, with an outside leg kick. He also joins it with a left hook. Barboza throws two body kick and throws a high kick, too….
UFC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barao 2 took place July 25, 2015 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate (17-5) and surging veteran Jessica Eye (11-3, 1 NC) met in a women’s bantamweight No. 1 contender bout in the night’s co-main event, which aired live on FOX Sports 1. Catch the video highlights above.
UFC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barao 2 took place July 25, 2015 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Former Strikeforce champion Miesha Tate (17-5) and surging veteran Jessica Eye (11-3, 1 NC) met in a women’s bantamweight No. 1 contender bout in the night’s co-main event, which aired live on FOX Sports 1. Catch the video highlights above.
