(“Hey you guys!!! Can I get a Baby Ruth?”)
UFC featherweight Mark Hominick was on The Fan 590 RadioMonday morning where he spoke with host Andrew Krystal about his gutsy fight at UFC 129 against Jose Aldo this past weekend.
According to “The Machine,” who says the gruesome hematoma he incurred during the bout was “merely a flesh wound,” the UFC brass were so impressed with his performance Saturday night that they have assured him that if he can put together a couple more wins, he’ll get another crack at the the promotion’s 145-pound strap.
Here’s what Hominick had to say about:
His disgusting hematoma:
“It was superficial. It looked a lot worse than it was, you know? I’ve got pair of black eyes but the swelling is down and it looked a lot worse than it was in the fight. I’m trying to avoid [seeing] some of [the photos from the fight]. Like I said, it was superficial and those hematomas…that’s just what happens in a fight. There’s swelling there and there’s nowhere for the swelling to go because you’re not cut or anything, so it just stockpiles there. I went to the hospital, got a CAT scan, everything was there, made sure nothing was broken, and nothing was broken and the CAT scan was completely fine. I put some ice on it and within two hours the swelling was gone. Both eyes are black and blue. A little swelling in the face but nothing serious. I’m wearing sunglasses and I can hide under them.”
Whether or not he thinks he was close to finishing the dominant champion:
“I think at the four minute mark he was waiting for that bell to ring. That’s just it. I was giving everything I had in my effort to finish the fight because I knew I was down. Besides the knockdown I believe it was pretty close throughout the fight. He just had heavy hands and any time he landed a clean punch he did damage and I think that was the difference in the fight. I hurt him early. A lot of people were talking about he was getting tired, he was tired I think because I hit him in the body. Even in the first round I hit him with a couple hard liver shots. That’s like my patented punch and I always attack the body on everybody. It takes your will to fight and I think that’s why he changed up the game plan and took me to the mat. It was a war and we got fight of the night for a reason. He did a lot of damage but like I said I inflicted a lot of damage on him and almost got the finish in the fifth round. Every couple of shots I landed a hard shot and I could just see it in his eyes. As much as he’s a champion and he wants to go out swinging, he was wanting that bell to ring. There’s no question. He was in there in survival mode as opposed to defending and attacking. He thought he had the fight in the bag at that point, so I think he was just trying to survive that last round.”
How many tickets he was asked to get by friends and family members:
“The numbers went down [of how many tickets I had to get] because they knew my hands were tied, but I know half of my high school was there for sure. It was pretty cool though. it was a big fight for all of them because all of them have known me since I was like five years old and to see where I came from… I’m from a town of 2,500 people. To be fighting in the biggest UFC [event] of all time for the world belt and to put on a fight like that, everyone was emotionally involved in that fight.”
The effect the raucous hometown crowd had on his performance:
“It was just a constant stream [of cheering], that’s what I was hearing. It just made me try that much harder. I think I proved there is no quit in me. I know I was supposed to go in there and I wasn’t supposed to make it out of the first round, but I was just trying to finish him. I wanted that belt so bad.”
What the UFC thought of his performance:
“Oh, they were thrilled. They were like, ‘Heal up and we want you back as soon as you can. In another two fights you will get another crack at the title.’ I know some of the things I have to work on to take him out. I don’t think he would be lining up to fight me to tell you the honest truth.”
Where he goes from here:
“[I’m going to] just take [on] a guy who’s maybe coming off of a win because I’m still in contention. I don’t think that fight puts me on the bottom of the pile. I’m still up there with the performance I put in. Jose Aldo hasn’t lost in five years. He’s never been in any type of trouble in any of his fights and I almost finished him. I took him to his limits. People know that I’m for real and I just have to go out there and prove it again. Honestly, I think 30 seconds more and I could have finished the fight. I wasn’t stopping and he was fading. But again, the bell rang and he won, so I have to go back to the drawing board and come back stronger.”