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“I feel like people are talking more about ‘oh he made a mistake’ than giving me the credit for the victory.”
Jack Hermansson doesn’t feel he is getting enough credit for his upset victory over Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Fight Night 172, which saw the 32-year-old submit Gastelum with a heel hook in the first round.
Speaking to MMA Fighting’s Damon Martin in a recent interview, the 32-year-old assured fight fans his victory was no fluke and said he drills that particular submission hold in training every day.
“I feel like people are talking more about ‘oh he made a mistake’ than giving me the credit for the victory,” Hermansson said. “I know that this submission is not a fluke. It’s something that I do all the time in training and something I prepared for. It’s something we drilled and something we knew could happen.
“You need to really have the right mechanics [to get that heel hook]. You could see my first attempt, I was below his knee, he could easily kick out. The second attempt, I managed to get in deep, get high with my hips, use that to get him down to the ground and I was able to apply a proper finish.”
Part of the reason MMA fans are reluctant to give Hermansson credit is perhaps due to his stoppage loss to Jared Cannonier at UFC Fight Night 160 but, prior to that, ‘The Joker’ was on a four-fight win streak and knocking on the door of title contention.
“I had a great run before the Cannonier fight,” Hermansson said. “I lost that momentum but I felt like with a great victory and a quick finish, I can get back to the place where I was. I felt like I managed to do that.”
Hermansson is currently ranked #6 in the official UFC middleweight rankings and is hoping to fight former champ Robert Whittaker in his next bout.