Bamgbose wants to avenge loss to Uriah Hall: ‘I highly dislike bullies’

UFC middleweight Oluwale Bamgbose wants to ‘one day’ avenge his debut loss to Uriah Hall because “Primetime” reminds him of a bully.

Oluwale Bamgbose had the opportunity of a lifetime nearly a year ago when he received a call from UFC matchmakers asking if he’d fight top middleweight Uriah Hall on short notice. Hall’s original opponent, Joe Riggs, had been forced out of the contest with an injury. Bamgbose was more than happy to oblige, but ultimately didn’t find the success he found on the regional circuit in his first outing in the big leagues.

It wasn’t long from the opening bell before “Primetime” was able to get Bamgbose on the mat and pound out an impressive first-round TKO victory, marking Bamgbose’s first pro-defeat.

Bamgbose says he was prepared going into the bout despite it being on short notice, but, as expected, nerves played a part. Not being able to pull the trigger on fight night is what caused the loss, according to “The Holy War Angel.”

“It was an opportunity to be recognized as one of the best and it was clearly to be selected to fill a main event slot for the prelims,” Bamgbose told BloodyElbow.com. “I was slightly nervous but I was ready, just like I am now for anyone. My killer instincts were not unleashed the way it is now.”

Looking back on the loss, Bamgbose hopes a rematch against Hall is in order. He says he was “of course” bullied growing up because of his somewhat-difficult-to-pronounce name, and that “looking like Steve Urkel didn’t help me either.” When he fought Hall in August of last year, his opponent reminded the 28-year-old of his bully-filled childhood.

And now Bamgbose wants revenge.

“One day I will avenge how I lost because I highly dislike bullies and Uriah Hall reminds me of one,” he said.

Bamgbose moved on from the devastating loss rather quickly, and got back into the winning column this past February with a spectacular knockout win over Daniel Sarafian. The moment he landed the brutal left kick to force the referee to intervene was surreal for Bamgbose. It was a feeling he’ll never forget. But, just like his loss in his UFC debut, he wasn’t mesmerized by the win for long. He got right back into the gym and realized it was now about doing the same thing — winning — consistently.

“Winning for the first time in the UFC was absolutely amazing and unreal,” he said. “But it happened and I’m looking forward to earning that feeling many more times in the UFC. Each fight is a championship fight in my opinion and almost all fighters in the UFC were champions back in their respective homes at some point. So I realized early on winning is and will not be easy in the UFC, but it is do-able and the Holy War Angel will win as well as stand out!”

After UFC Fight Night 83 concluded, the post-fight bonuses were announced, as usual. Despite picking up one of the most impressive finishes on the entire UFC Fight Night 83 card, Bamgbose was not awarded one of the two “Performance of the Night” bonuses, which was actually quite disheartening for him, especially considering the hard work he put in.

“I was very surprised, I’m sure you and a lot of people were too, let’s be honest,” he said. “It was discouraging as well because I like giving my best and being rewarded and when I gave my best and I wasn’t rewarded, it kinda discouraged me a little from wanting to display my best. But it’s the UFC and I just told myself to focus on securing the win because bonuses are kind of up in the air with regards to who will win, so show your best to win not for the bonus. I’ll get some next time probably without even trying because I was born to knock people out.”

His success came to an abrupt halt in his next fight against Cezar Ferreira, though. After a dominant first round in which he nearly finished the Brazilian, Bamgbose appeared to fade later on in the fight and Ferreira was awarded the close decision victory. But Bamgbose cites being thrown off when the fight wasn’t stopped in the first round in regards to why he lost the fight, instead of “fading” or “slowing down.”

“I may have faded in the eyes of many, who knows, but truth is I was as a little thrown off and surprised the fight wasn’t stopped,” he said. “Nonetheless, I did a poor job in finishing Cezar and I cannot and will not let that happen again. I will stop slightly when he is unconscious. I stopped slightly because I thought Herb was about to stop the fight and he didn’t.

“About my cardio, I believe it was decent. My hands were still up and I was still thinking and playing chess out there. Although I wasn’t as explosive clearly, I understand now why having the same energy is important in the later rounds compared to the first on. Because, well the fight isn’t over until your opponent is out. Competing effectively even when tired is key to winning in the highest level the UFC. I believe attacking with everything from beginning to the very end can happen and it will happen in all my fights. I just understand timing and conserving energy better now thanks to Cezar. He also did a good job of showing how much of a chin he still has and an overall complete MMA game. Wishing him the same continued success in showing his best this July. The man beat me fair and square and I respect him for that. He didn’t have to target my mouth piece to win unlike some fighters, who have to essentially cheat to throw their opponent off.”

Bamgbose fights out of The Bronx, New York, and just like every UFC fighter from The Empire State — or from anywhere, really — he would love to have a spot on the upcoming UFC 205 pay-per-view card at New York’s Madison Square Garden for his next out.

“If I can get on that NYC November card it would be an amazing opportunity for me to put on for my city and introduce to New York what they have been missing out on for all these years,” he said. “Being able to compete at the Garden in front of my family, friends and city would be an honor, a dream come true and the best time to show how great I am.”

UFC middleweight Oluwale Bamgbose wants to ‘one day’ avenge his debut loss to Uriah Hall because “Primetime” reminds him of a bully.

Oluwale Bamgbose had the opportunity of a lifetime nearly a year ago when he received a call from UFC matchmakers asking if he’d fight top middleweight Uriah Hall on short notice. Hall’s original opponent, Joe Riggs, had been forced out of the contest with an injury. Bamgbose was more than happy to oblige, but ultimately didn’t find the success he found on the regional circuit in his first outing in the big leagues.

It wasn’t long from the opening bell before “Primetime” was able to get Bamgbose on the mat and pound out an impressive first-round TKO victory, marking Bamgbose’s first pro-defeat.

Bamgbose says he was prepared going into the bout despite it being on short notice, but, as expected, nerves played a part. Not being able to pull the trigger on fight night is what caused the loss, according to “The Holy War Angel.”

“It was an opportunity to be recognized as one of the best and it was clearly to be selected to fill a main event slot for the prelims,” Bamgbose told BloodyElbow.com. “I was slightly nervous but I was ready, just like I am now for anyone. My killer instincts were not unleashed the way it is now.”

Looking back on the loss, Bamgbose hopes a rematch against Hall is in order. He says he was “of course” bullied growing up because of his somewhat-difficult-to-pronounce name, and that “looking like Steve Urkel didn’t help me either.” When he fought Hall in August of last year, his opponent reminded the 28-year-old of his bully-filled childhood.

And now Bamgbose wants revenge.

“One day I will avenge how I lost because I highly dislike bullies and Uriah Hall reminds me of one,” he said.

Bamgbose moved on from the devastating loss rather quickly, and got back into the winning column this past February with a spectacular knockout win over Daniel Sarafian. The moment he landed the brutal left kick to force the referee to intervene was surreal for Bamgbose. It was a feeling he’ll never forget. But, just like his loss in his UFC debut, he wasn’t mesmerized by the win for long. He got right back into the gym and realized it was now about doing the same thing — winning — consistently.

“Winning for the first time in the UFC was absolutely amazing and unreal,” he said. “But it happened and I’m looking forward to earning that feeling many more times in the UFC. Each fight is a championship fight in my opinion and almost all fighters in the UFC were champions back in their respective homes at some point. So I realized early on winning is and will not be easy in the UFC, but it is do-able and the Holy War Angel will win as well as stand out!”

After UFC Fight Night 83 concluded, the post-fight bonuses were announced, as usual. Despite picking up one of the most impressive finishes on the entire UFC Fight Night 83 card, Bamgbose was not awarded one of the two “Performance of the Night” bonuses, which was actually quite disheartening for him, especially considering the hard work he put in.

“I was very surprised, I’m sure you and a lot of people were too, let’s be honest,” he said. “It was discouraging as well because I like giving my best and being rewarded and when I gave my best and I wasn’t rewarded, it kinda discouraged me a little from wanting to display my best. But it’s the UFC and I just told myself to focus on securing the win because bonuses are kind of up in the air with regards to who will win, so show your best to win not for the bonus. I’ll get some next time probably without even trying because I was born to knock people out.”

His success came to an abrupt halt in his next fight against Cezar Ferreira, though. After a dominant first round in which he nearly finished the Brazilian, Bamgbose appeared to fade later on in the fight and Ferreira was awarded the close decision victory. But Bamgbose cites being thrown off when the fight wasn’t stopped in the first round in regards to why he lost the fight, instead of “fading” or “slowing down.”

“I may have faded in the eyes of many, who knows, but truth is I was as a little thrown off and surprised the fight wasn’t stopped,” he said. “Nonetheless, I did a poor job in finishing Cezar and I cannot and will not let that happen again. I will stop slightly when he is unconscious. I stopped slightly because I thought Herb was about to stop the fight and he didn’t.

“About my cardio, I believe it was decent. My hands were still up and I was still thinking and playing chess out there. Although I wasn’t as explosive clearly, I understand now why having the same energy is important in the later rounds compared to the first on. Because, well the fight isn’t over until your opponent is out. Competing effectively even when tired is key to winning in the highest level the UFC. I believe attacking with everything from beginning to the very end can happen and it will happen in all my fights. I just understand timing and conserving energy better now thanks to Cezar. He also did a good job of showing how much of a chin he still has and an overall complete MMA game. Wishing him the same continued success in showing his best this July. The man beat me fair and square and I respect him for that. He didn’t have to target my mouth piece to win unlike some fighters, who have to essentially cheat to throw their opponent off.”

Bamgbose fights out of The Bronx, New York, and just like every UFC fighter from The Empire State — or from anywhere, really — he would love to have a spot on the upcoming UFC 205 pay-per-view card at New York’s Madison Square Garden for his next out.

“If I can get on that NYC November card it would be an amazing opportunity for me to put on for my city and introduce to New York what they have been missing out on for all these years,” he said. “Being able to compete at the Garden in front of my family, friends and city would be an honor, a dream come true and the best time to show how great I am.”