Gasan Umalatov wanted first-round finish over Paulo Thiago at TUF: Brazil 3 Finale

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Gasan Umalatov had his back against the wall at The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 Finale.

Coming off a unanimous decision loss to Neil Magny in his Octagon debut, the Dagestani welterweight took on Brazilian veteran Paulo Thiago in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and dominated the action to come out victorious via decision.

“If I lost, the UFC was finished for me,” Umalatov told MMAFighting.com after the win. “This fight was very difficult. I can say this fight was a big fight in my life. I watched many fights of Paulo Thiago. He is a great fighter and I’m happy that I won today.”

Umalatov was happy that he came out victories, but it didn’t happen the way he expected.

“I wanted to finish it in the first round, but Paulo Thiago is a great fighter,” he said. “I couldn’t do it. It was a really tough fight because of his style, so I am glad I won.”

With a 1-1 record under the UFC banner, “Cobra” wants to get back to Greg Jackson’s team in Albuquerque, N.M., for his next training camp.

“In my last fight, I felt really bad, I had only a few days to train,” he said. “For this fight, I went to Greg Jackson’s team and did a good training camp. Greg Jackson gave me a plan.”

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Gasan Umalatov had his back against the wall at The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 Finale.

Coming off a unanimous decision loss to Neil Magny in his Octagon debut, the Dagestani welterweight took on Brazilian veteran Paulo Thiago in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and dominated the action to come out victorious via decision.

“If I lost, the UFC was finished for me,” Umalatov told MMAFighting.com after the win. “This fight was very difficult. I can say this fight was a big fight in my life. I watched many fights of Paulo Thiago. He is a great fighter and I’m happy that I won today.”

Umalatov was happy that he came out victories, but it didn’t happen the way he expected.

“I wanted to finish it in the first round, but Paulo Thiago is a great fighter,” he said. “I couldn’t do it. It was a really tough fight because of his style, so I am glad I won.”

With a 1-1 record under the UFC banner, “Cobra” wants to get back to Greg Jackson’s team in Albuquerque, N.M., for his next training camp.

“In my last fight, I felt really bad, I had only a few days to train,” he said. “For this fight, I went to Greg Jackson’s team and did a good training camp. Greg Jackson gave me a plan.”