Fans who attend Saturday night’s Driller Promotions: Downtown Showdown 8 will be treated to what is expected to be a highly entertaining co-main event featuring one of Minnesota’s best in Rich Taylor as he battles rising prospect from North Dakota, Ryan Burwick.
The 145-pound bout will be part of a nine fight event which will begin at 7:15pm on Saturday night, July 14th at the Hyatt hotel in Minneapolis, MN.
Taylor, a former Augsburg college wrestling teammate of Bellator and UFC stars such as Roger Huerta, Carey Vanier and Marcus LeVesseur, has been steadily rising through the ranks in the midwest. He will be looking to solidify his spot as one of the very best featherweights in the area with a win on Saturday night.
He won’t have an easy road, though, as Burwick has been on a three-fight winning streak with all three victories coming in the first round (including two submissions).
“He’s a great BJJ guy, so that’s always dangerous,” Taylor told Bleacher Report MMA. “But I don’t really worry about my opponents so much. I try to concentrate on what I’m going to do.”
As a champion in Brutaal, Taylor has experience going as deep as five rounds in his fights which could make for an interesting challenge for Ryan Burwick, who has only gone to a decision once in his career.
“We definitely looked at the fact that he hasn’t been to the later rounds. When you get deep into fights, that’s really when you can test a fighter’s heart,” Taylor said. “I’m definitely looking to bring him into deeper water and push the pace on him. Hopefully I can break him.”
Though the fight against Burwick came along smoothly, Taylor admits that previous opponent, promoter and management issues kept him out of the cage for longer than he would have preferred.
“I was offered some fights, but a lot of them were out of the country. One of them fell through. I was just kind of waiting for the right opportunity,” he said. “I was really hoping that I would get a shot in the big show for the UFC. I’ve been looking forward to that.”
Taylor has not fought since October of 2011, but his new manager Monte Cox could be the behind-the-scenes change that finally gives him the opportunity to compete for the more high-profile promotions.
The 145-pound division might be the weakest weight class in the UFC and that could play out very well for Taylor who believes that he will be ready to compete at that level when he finally gets the call.
“I think the 145 pound division is a little bit thin until you get up to the top guys like Aldo and Mendes,” Taylor admitted. “I think I can compete with any of those guys, even the top guys I think I could give a fight to. I just really want that chance. I’m ready for it physically, I’m ready for it mentally.”
Though he hopes that a win on Saturday will put him over the edge, Taylor understands that timing is everything. With the UFC releasing fellow Minnesota 145-pounder Pat Schilling in June, it could be the perfect time for Taylor to finally get his chance against an opponent who called him out over a year ago.
“He called me out at one of the shows and I accepted the challenge. Then I guess [Schilling and his management] kind of backed out,” Taylor said. “I don’t know if there was maybe an injury or what occurred—maybe they were waiting for something on a bigger show. I got a couple different stories. I didn’t take it personally, though. I would love to mix it up with him if he wanted to go back and finish up what we had going. I’d love to get in there and scrap with him.”
Another frequently-discussed opponent for Taylor is Mitch Jackson, the top-ranked Minnesota featherweight according to MNMMANews.com, and the only man who currently sits above Taylor on that list.
“I think that’d be a good fight. A lot of people want to see that,” Taylor said about a potential bout with Jackson. “I tried to get that fight awhile ago, but I guess he was going into some tournament and the fight never happened.”
Before he gets to rumble with Schilling or Jackson, though, Taylor will need to get through a very dangerous opponent in Ryan Burwick. Taylor believes he’s up to the challenge and that those in attendance will go home satisfied by his performance.
“I predict that I’m knocking Ryan Burwick out,” Taylor said. “That’s what the fans want to see and that’s what I’m going for.”
Tickets are still available for this big fight card in Minneapolis and will be on sale at the door with prices as low as just $35/ea.
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