Bryan Caraway might be just as well known for his own MMA skills as those of his girlfriend, newly-crowned UFC female bantamweight champion Miesha Tate.
But Caraway (20-7) isn’t about to let those who “troll” him by referring to the fighter as “Mr. Tate” play a role in his career.
Aljamain Sterling, an unbeaten bantamweight who recently signed a new contract with the UFC, has been calling for a bout vs. Caraway for well over a year now. And while the alum of The Ultimate Fighter is willing to grant him such a match, it isn’t over his comments.
“This, to me, is not emotional. That’s now where the sport goes for me,” said Caraway, in an interview with MMAjunkie.com. “If it starts going like that, it becomes a circus. It becomes a bullying mentality and teaches all these kids that if you talk crap and bully people, you get what you want in life. That’s not the way I’m trying to go.
“I’m not trying to get to where I want to go because I’m bullying people. I want to fight (Sterling) because he’s ranked fifth in the world. I don’t care what he says.”
Caraway has won five of his seven UFC fights, including three of his last four. His last match, though, came in July of last year when he bested Eddie Wineland.
“I don’t know what the UFC’s plan is,” he admitted. “They’re trying to say I’m ducking people, but here I am calling out these guys and it’s not happening.”