UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez: Post-Fight Reactions from Prelims

UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez 2 had some exciting fights on show in the preliminary card.

Roman Dolidze, Joel Alvarez and Amir Albazi went home with stoppage wins in their respective fights when Grant Dawson, Brett Johns, Arman Tsarukyan and Serghei Spivac secured decision victories. Below are the post-fight quotes from the fighters.

Roman Dolidze:

“Of course, I am very happy. He was a good opponent, tough opponent but I don’t like when someone looks at me like he done yesterday, this was his big mistake, that’s why it was like that today. Just fighting, that’s all, nothing more. I’m ready, no problems with me, I’m ready to fight yesterday, tomorrow, and I will improve my English!”

Grant Dawson:

“It was a good fight, I thought I put on a really good performance, I thought it was an exciting fight, I thought it was one of the better fights of the night. There was a little bit of everything, knees, elbows, blood, wrestling, guts, submission attempts, I thought I was dominant from the beginning all the way to the end. The only thing that surprised me, was that at the end he caught me behind the ear at the end of the third round, kinda wobbled me a little bit, but we recovered, I got that experience, I came back and I thought I won the fight, I thought I won the third round other than that punch.

The strategy pretty much always stays the same: be aggressive, get the takedown, look to be dominant from start to finish, we did that. In the third round, I wanted to show my striking ability, I wanted to get at least a knockdown or some good punches, but it didn’t go that way, but we got the win and that’s all that matters. I love it hear, I’d love to come back. I’ve been here for over two weeks. I love it, it’s so beautiful here, I wish I could have seen it more outside the hotel, but it is what it is, we’re here to fight.”

Joel Alvarez:

“He was using a lot of the kicks, at the end of the fight, we went into grappling and my guillotine took him out. He surprised me with the lateral kicks at the beginning, but we had practised a little bit maintain that aspect and at the end of the day, we were able to maintain and control that aspect.

Whoever the boss says is next, I’m ready for them. I’m ready to fight the best guys in the UFC. The experience on Fight Island has been great with my team. Everything has been wonderful so far and hopefully, I get to repeat the experience.”

Brett Johns:

The performance myself, I wasn’t particularly happy with, but we’ll take it. For example, the guy has a lot of momentum, three-fight win streak, he’s a prospect in the UFC, I’ll take that. The performance itself, I wasn’t particular happy, but like I said, I’ve come in the best condition, that’s what got me through all them rounds. I just want to say thank you to my team who has got me in this peak physical condition. Overall, I’m happy I grinded it out, that’s my style really, I have that fighting style in me where I grind things out. I am very happy overall to get the win, it’s a new chapter in my career, did I feel like I looked good? Not very, but I’ll take it, he was a good striker, I’m very thankful.

We expected Montel to have a very quick 1-2. There is quick and there was that, that was super-fast. That’s what caught me off guard really, once I got caught with it once, I was weary about it and I managed to time it and get the shots off to get to the fence. Like I said, probably not the most attractive fight, at this level and this big stage, I wanted a win and that’s what I got.

I’m happy to fight anybody in this weight division. It is the ‘anyone can get it’ tour. If you ask me a name, I’d like to fight a legend, a legend of the game. I’d like to fight someone like Urijah Faber, a guy who has been there and done it and fought the best guys. Was that the performance to really shout and scream about it? Probably not, but if Urijah is watching, that’s a fight I dream to have. I think about getting my shorts framed after the fight and imagine fighting Urijah Faber and them shorts, that would be a dream come true.

Amir Albazi:

The victory felt amazing, exactly what I’ve been working on. It went exactly to plan, the plan was to stand up a bit, feel him out, take him down and finally put him to sleep with a chokehold or a submission. I’ve been training jujitsu since the age of 14, both back home in Sweden and in London Shoot Fighters in London, so I feel very comfortable on the ground.

To be honest, nothing really surprised me. I prepare with all type of opponents, so when I’m in there, I feel at home and it’s just another puzzle to solve. If Dana gives me that 50 G’s, I’ll stick around and do another fight next week. Celebrate, have fun, but also go back to training.

Fight Island has been really an amazing experience. A lot of people talk about the UFC, but the staff, the organization, how everything is run, it’s top of the mountain, now I understand why it’s the biggest promotion in the world.

Arm Tsarukyan:

This was a great fight for me because Davi Ramos is a very strong opponent. He is one of the stronger grapplers in the world. Next fight, I want to fight with top 15, top 10 guys, maybe Iaquinta because he is a very strong guy and he fought with Khabib Nurmagomedov. I want to fight with him because it’s a good fight for me. I’m a very young fighter, every day I will get better and better. I can destroy my whole division.

I have never been here, it’s a great island, it’s a great place. I am so very happy because it is very great for me to fight on Fight Island. I didn’t fight for one year, which was bad, but not I am happy, it is good for me.

Serghei Spivac:

I think that I wasn't great in this fight because I never had a proper camp because of the COVID situation. I was mad at my opponent because of his tricks on the weigh-ins and during the fight. My daughter was born right before the fight so I didn't sleep well because of that, and I want to dedicate the victory to my wife and daughter.

Also Read: UFC Fight Night: Figueiredo vs. Benavidez: Post-Fight Reactions from Fighters

Image Courtesy: UFC

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