🔴 VeChain UFC 322: Post-Fight Press Conference

in English first and Then we'll have an entire session in Spanish. We're no translation. Okay, so let's start with the questions in English Got them on the table don't simply put the pretty big I'll have said told us a certain top a la presa de norteamerica Estas unios y después que toda la prensa latina black on to the tranquilo listo We're going to do everything for the North American press and then the Latin American press will talk to you. spectacular performance like that. Congratulations on your victory. How do you feel after a victory like this? Very good, calm, calmer after the fight. I'm very happy for this opportunity that God guy has given me to win this fight. Can you walk us through the shot that dropped him and the follow up punches that eventually put him away? I think the key here, we were talking about a very stocky fighter, so he's down there

low center of gravity, so he just basically knees flexed all the time and trying to stay at the same level that he was. We worked on that a lot, able to be cool, calm, collected. I mean listen, the corner helped me out. I was really nervous, I was shitting my pants back in the locker room. But they were just basically, they calmed me down and I was able to follow the strategy and win the fight.

Why are you so nervous? Why are you so nervous?

I'm always nervous.

I fight with nerves, with fear, with my heart in my hands, but that's what moves me. That's the only thing that moves me. So, thanks to that, I say I'm human. So, if you don't feel nervous, if you don't feel afraid,

then you're not alive. Take it to heart. I always tell people, if you don't have fear, if you don't have the nerves, you're not alive.

But you put the mask on, you shouted your mom out. Have you had a chance to speak with her? And why did you, obviously we know why you chose the Miles Morales mask, but why'd you bring it to MSG?

Well, first of all, I don't know if you had the opportunity

to be with your mom, but you put the mask on. I've always wanted to do it. I've been doing it for a while now. I like Miles Morales. It was time. I don't care if I get a ticket. It's the least important thing right now. The important thing is the celebration. The important thing is that people enjoyed it. And in Madison, no one has done that.

So it was the first time for everyone. done to prompt the important things that people enjoyed it and that's pretty much good just might as well just do it here. What did you make of Islam's performance

against Jack? I think he's a good fighter. He fought well. He had a hard fight. We knew he wanted to fight less and fight more. That was his strategy. He fought well. He gave everything to get the fight going but he couldn't. Everyone knew he was going to fall. He's a strong fighter. He's a wel correction there. I was going for JDM but we knew this was we

knew it was gonna do we knew what he needed to do we knew that it was gonna be very wrestling heavy that he was gonna go where the grappling we knew that he was going to try to receive as less damage as possible and less hits from from JDM so listen we knew that it's a dude he's a new division we're talking about one time we're not he's no longer division. We're talking about it one time. He's no longer 155, so you have to watch out

for what's going on. He is a champion. He's a double champion. He's a new champion of the World Tour division, but that's not going to stop me.

You made the motion for the belt, but Carlos Pratiz also wants the title shot. He declared himself the most entertaining fighter in the division we asked him about your fight and goes you're exciting he's more exciting maybe eventually you can fight but he would

also be willing to fight you maybe in a semi-finals match to face the welterweight

champion so what did you make of a semifinal? I'm not going to fight this guy. If they tell me I'm going to fight him, I'm going to do it. I don't care. If they tell me I have to wait a little longer for the title, I'm going to wait. As long as they let me fight, I'm happy. That's a step-by-step process. I'm not desperate. I'm young. I'm going to accept it. I fulfilled my promise to win the first round. I did my part. The other fighters didn't do it. The one who wins the fight owns this one. The UFC makes the shots, makes the calls. They will see who's going to fight who.

And that's- we're just going to follow the suit of what they say. And listen, if I'm supposed to fight Paratis, I'll fight Paratis. If I'm supposed to fight Ian or Palau, whoever it is, I'll take it.

I'm not going to turn down a fight. I want to fight for the title if I need to fight one of them Okay, listen, I fulfilled my promise. I said I was gonna get a knock out of the first round I got it other fighters didn't fulfill their promise. So Whatever the UFC says we're gonna fight

Congratulations Michael right over here. Obviously all week long. We saw so much support from Ecuador Just the people here the flags all over the arena tonight obviously you've made a name back home and the fans are

supporting you here but now you're making a name in a whole nother country

what does that mean to you? I'm very happy. I don't see him a lot of incredible things thanks to my coaches. Mexico was the people that opened all this path for me. All these doors that opened for me were there in Mexico. Raul was the fundamental pillar for me to do a lot of good things in UFC.

So I thank you all very much. I'm very happy with the support, very happy to, and I don't consider myself to be a star, but you know, someone that's just, that's a representative of all the Mala, from Ecuador to Mexico, and I'm provide that inspiration. I'm just going to be the most important part, very grateful for everything, very grateful for the opportunity, again, that God has given me to actually do this. But I'm happy for Ecuador, happy for Mexico, this country that has embraced me and has welcomed me,

my coaches, my coroners, Raul, has been the pillar, the fundamental pillar of the opportunity that I've given them. I'm just very happy and grateful for them and I'm gonna continue to enjoy.

Thank you.

Michael, right here. Right here in the front. Jack Delamere Atlanta just faced Islam Markashev. The pre-fight he said, "'Yeah, Islam might take me down, "'but he won't be able to hold me down.

"'I'll get back up time and time again people have said that they said either Islam won't be able to take him down or won't be able to hold him down if you get that match next why would he not be

able to take you down or hold you down what would make you different? Can be that I fall, can be that I knock him out, but I get up and he's not going to keep me there. Every time, fight after fight, everyone says no, no, don't worry, I get up and I stand there. Why won't he achieve that with you if you fight? Why won't you let that happen or will you get him up?

Everyone says that until the day of the fight. When I face them it's different. They've said this about me as well. Every single time. Every fighter has said, I'll take him down, I'll knock him out. I'm not going to let that happen. I'm going to let him talk and I'm going to do my job. I'm going to be focused and ready for the fight. I don't care what the person says, I'm going to do my job and I'm going to be silent and, keep quiet and knock him out. I'm gonna be calm about this, continue to put and show the hard work that I put in and that's not gonna happen.

Now all in Spanish?

Okay, so right clean and elegant. Is it becoming your signature?

That's right, that's what we've been working on. But to make it happen, you have to work very hard. We've worked very, very hard, even though we had a short time. So, the way we work is very strong. We are very focused on training and more if it's short distance fights. So we don't want to miss the opportunities that are given to us. Raul always tells me, you're young, don't rush, this is going to happen, that's going to happen. At any moment we're going to lose. So you're always ready for anything. Enjoy it, enjoy it. You're doing things that no other kid your age is doing.

So thank God, thank your family, thank the people who are helping you. And that's what we're doing.

Totally. You made it look too easy, actually. But as you say, there's a lot of preparation behind that. How does it feel to crystallize this in front of a number 2?

I mean, to make it look soize in front of a number 2? I'd rather go out and enjoy my family than be there killing someone. I'd rather go out clean and normal. In training, yes, blood, crying, sweating, suffering, not being allowed to leave the sauna in the weight cut. I want to grow as a fighter, develop as a person. I know that in my mind I'm forcing myself to do something that anyone would do and go home to rest. I want to stay, I want to live the life of a fighter. That's what I'm doing. I enjoy it, I enjoy your mom tell you before entering the octagon? She told me to go out and win the first round. My mom told me, yes, win the first round fight, don't make me suffer so much, son of a bitch. That was all. But she's happy, my mom is there, she's happy.

They're already out there waving flags. So now I'm going to go see her, get some vials and rest.

Michael, if you don't get the opportunity for the title you asked Dana White for today, are you still thinking about Ian Garry or do you have another name for the top 5? Because you already faced an ex-2.

It doesn't matter if it's Garry or not. They have their fights right now. a 2-0? If he wins his fight, good. It's not going to be any time soon. He's a prospect, just like Pratt. He won his fight well. We just have to wait. It's a matter of time. The title is there for the 3 or 4, who knows. There's one more coming, so we just have to wait.

To finish, your greetings to all the Ecuadorian people who are more than hooked on your career and today today your fight. All the videos have gone viral, so your greeting.

That's right, what is promised is debt, we keep our word, we are going to Ecuador to celebrate this great victory, I hope to see you soon. We are going to go to the Ecuadorian match that is going to be this week, so to enjoy it, to enjoy it. We told them that the Ecuadorian is Arrecho and if he dies, Arrecho dies.

So until the end we are going to put a lot of heart and a lot of balls into that game and give it our all. Michael, it's a pleasure to be here with you again. Congratulations on a great victory. Technically, you showed yourself superior at all times, from the beginning controlling the center of the octagon.

I ask you, did everything go according to plan or were you surprised he would never look for the floor? He's a weak fighter, he's a little tall, he's loose. He was going to tackle or something like that. So he's always on guard, always with the nerves on point because we didn't know what he was going to do. He's a very good fighter, a very good jiu-jitsu fighter. I also told him there at the time of the fight that I wish him and his family the best. I know he has a son who is just months old. I've been fighting for months now, so I wish him the best in the world. He still has the potential to go up in the division. He's very strong. I almost didn't get out of the grip he gave me. So, the strategy was to fight well, head on, standing, and calmly. Q. Do you feel that your rivals and the foreign press are looking down on you? I don't care what people say about me, I don't care if they like how I fight or not. I'm the one who has to do it right. I'm going to keep improving, I'm going to keep fighting all my rivals.

They told me the same thing about my first fight, I'm going to debut, I'm going to win, I'm going to win my second, I'm going to win my third, my fourth. They're more experienced, they have more experience. All I have done is shut my mouth. I will keep working, no matter if they speak badly, they will not benefit me and I will not make money. The only way to make money here is by knocking, earning your bonus and going home to rest.

There is always something to improve and both you and Raul always talk about improving despite the win. If you had to pick something clean today, that you said, despite winning in such a spectacular way,

I feel like I'm missing something, what could it be?

I didn't kick him. I think that's it. I couldn't kick him. I tried to kick him a little bit, but I couldn't. But it came out really well. The fight was to hit hard, any punch that came out, but fight was to hit hard. Any punch that came out was to hit hard. Thank you. Thank you. And again, it's the best thing that Corey has done.

Thank you.

Michael here on your right. First of all, congratulations. And let me tell you that you make us all Ecuadorians proud, especially those of us who are doing patria out here. Congratulations, really. I wanted to ask you if you ever thought about winning the fight that fast?

Yes, I said it a long time ago that I wanted to win the fight in the first round. I was also threatened by my mom that I had to win fast. I always wanted to finish the fight early. I told my corner, I'm very nervous. I'm very nervous for the fight. We were afraid he would knock us out and we would be on the floor for a long time. That's how we won the fight. We didn't want that, we wanted to finish the fight fast. Everything went well. There were a lot of people here in Ecuador, supporting you, cheering for you.

How do you feel about all the support?

Very happy, very happy. Believe it or not, despite all the noise, I was able to hear my mom. I was able to hear her from afar and I saw her and I said, there she is, mommy, there she is, there she is, until I found her. And I'm very happy. In fact, she was relaxing outside.

I think she's relaxing right now too. But I'm very happy that people came to enjoy this fight. Ecuadorians are looking for her. Wherever she is, they are looking for her. We are here, we are there, but in some way we support each other. Even though we don't support each other,

however little we receive, welcome it, and the little that we don't, well, welcome it too. So, let's keep going.

Finally, Michael, what message do you have for the Ecuadorian people,

who are very happy and excited about your victory?

We are achieving a lot by taking small steps. This is just the beginning. We are four now, five or six will come, but we are giving it our all. We have shown it in the contenders, we have shown it with all the stars that are coming to the UFC, with the veterans of the UFC from Ecuador.

This is step by step. Just don't stop supporting. That is fundamental. Despite the criticism, despite the bad comments and bad things that happen, Ecuador will never stop. The only way we can stand out in Ecuador is by putting a lot of fire and a lot of eggs in everyone. I want to congratulate you, the team, Raul, Andy, Martin, and everyone else. Michael, three consecutive fights, three knockout wins, all three in the first round. Is the plan to always go out there and put pressure on them? Or have you had the plan to wait for the openings,

wait to see what the opponent's body language tells you, and wait to see their intentions? That's it. That's the last thing you said. Body language is what helps me a lot. I hear a lot of my corner when we're fighting. So when I see my opponent, I touch him or something. If he doesn't blink his eyes, I don't follow him.

So you have to wait for the right moment. You have to wait for him to see that he can't stand up well. That's where I really attack. So the strategy was to hit him hard, but strong. And wait for the opportunity to take him to the floor and hit him until he doesn't stop.

On Thursday, in the press conference, when Sean Brady was asked about the number of Ecuadorians who were here supporting you, and who generally live here in New York and New Jersey, he said, ah, the Ecuadorians are here for a little football game on Tuesday.

I don't know if you noticed that, Judge, but what opinion would you have of what John Brady said,

especially now that what happened has happened? We kicked his ass. That's all I can say. We kicked his ass, and it doesn't matter what he says. The work was done, it was done very well, and all the Ecuadorians were here to recharge my batteries. I'm here to fight and then to fight.

And last but not least, to not lose the habit, give me a Ecuadorian Arrecho.

Ecuadorian Arrecho, you son of a bitch!

Michael, over here. Can you see me? Congratulations on the win. You mentioned something very important, which is how you have developed your hearing, how you hear your corner very well.

Is there a specific exercise that you develop in the gym so you can hear your mom? My mom was my corner, so I listened to her a lot. And also, since I was very young, I had the habit of listening to my corner. I mean, what I hear, my coaches. So Raul, Andy, Martin, they always shout at me and I always listen to them. Always, always. When Andy tells me protocol, it's breathing. Martin tells me distance.

Raul tells me more jab, more punches. So I listen to hit harder. I hear all that and I hear my mom from afar. It's constant work, it's been done for a long time and I've developed that. I've heard it from afar.

Now, with Rachmaninoff, you're both undefeated in the division.

Do you think that this streak, as the colleagues mentioned, How do you develop as a fighter? If you're a boring fighter you won't get the results you want. I'm not saying I'm the best, we're just starting, we're growing. We don't have to rush, just enjoy the moment, enjoy the fight working again. Right now, it's Christmas, the holidays, the end of the year, the widows, everything is relaxed in Ecuador. And then, we'll go back to work.

On that note, are you going to continue with the tradition of dressing up as a widow?

Obviously, obviously. We have to make that popular.

Here, the UFC thinks that's for faggots, but no, no, no. That has to be popularized. Very good, Michael. And just to finish, you also mention the importance of what has been the teacher Raul and the whole team of Entran for you. But what can you say, because not only for you, but for the Ecuadorians who have been able to shine internationally, who have gone through this gym,

what does it represent for the Ecuadorian MMA,

for your opinion, Entran Gym? It's like a second home for me. Raul is like a dad to me. Andy and Martin are family to me. Entran has become my home. Even though a lot of people come and go, I prefer to stay there because I feel like I'm only 20% learned. I have a lot left. I want to be black belt in Entran Gym. I want to learn Raul's bases, I want to learn about my own body. Andy also learns every day, he is a coach that is updated every now and then. I have a lot left, I have a lot left in entranjin, I'm going to stay there, I'm going to stay there. I am also entranjin, so the important thing now is to keep working, keep improving, bring more fighters, to learn, to be educated as MMA fighters.

And if they are Ecuadorian, I would be very proud if they came and said, Michael trained here too. So welcome to the team and let it ended up being beneficial for you.

Have you considered in the future, immediate or far future fighting in the next division? Yes, but the most important thing right now is to be champions in this division.

I already talked about this with Raul, Andy and Martin. First we have to be champions. We did suffer to put on weight. We suffered a lot. I've been losing 40 pounds since we started camp until now. But it wasn't good. We cut the last day, which was Thursday, I think, like 16 pounds. So a cut at night and in the morning is also hard.

But we did it well. We did it well, we were calm, we sweat all the time. And likewise the rebound. We got here at 199, I think. 199 pounds, almost 200. So we also had a good rebound. So we can improve, we can educate ourselves a little more. I don't control the food, but we can educate ourselves more. When they're ready. When the champion is ready, when the next rival is ready. Against whoever. It doesn't matter.

I just want to wait for my opportunity. And like I said, I'm enjoying it, I'm enjoying it, people are watching it, my mom is happy. So the important thing right now is to recover, get back in shape and be ready for the next fight.

You got it, Michael.

Gate was 13.6 million, that's the third highest gate at MSG. UFC holds one through five, seven, nine, and ten all time at MSG. Two more years, we'll be the top ten, all ten of the top ten. The performance of the nights were Nickel, BSD, Pradas and Morales. They all won 50

grand. Well Dana in the end a much more dominant fight for Islam than maybe we thought. I thought maybe it was gonna be a bit more 50-50. I agree with you. What did you think of his performance, Jack's performance and the whole fight?

Yeah, I mean, you know, not the most exciting title fight you'll ever see, but let me tell you what, complete dominance and it's depending on what we do next with him and what's going on. This guy's headed toward goat talk.

Right. And that's the thing right what exactly do you do next thing it's no surprise there's a lot of guys who want to fight him Kamaru is meant Shavkat idiots a poyer is calling him out is the idiot fight that's obviously the biggest fight right but is that one you would like to look at or would you rather keep it here at 55 and make him

defend that championship at least I don't know yet. You know, obviously the great thing that you just laid out is we have a lot of options Yeah, and it depends on what he wants to do. Has he been through here yet? No, so does he want to stay at 170? Is he interested in 155? Is he you know, I don't know

I don't know any of those questions, you know, I mean answers. Yeah, I'm getting the sense We're gonna hear the words White House quite a lot from fighters over the next few months. Islam is already calling for that. Is that... I think when we think about the White House, it's almost like, oh, does it have to be America versus the world themed and stuff like that? For you, would you be happy putting a non-American main event on that card?

Yeah, it's not America versus the world. What's the best card we can build? So could Islam end up on the White House? We're talking about him possibly, you know, goat talk here, depending on what he does in his next couple of fights. So it's a possibility.

And then speaking of goat talk again, Valentin Shevchenko, another crazy dominant performance. I saw you did a podcast where you said that fight would never be boring, and then it turned out that Valentina just kind of smoked her. Curious your thoughts on that fight as well.

Yeah, I thought that, you know, whaley's a little pitbull. I thought she would She would be much stronger and and do better in that fight than she did One of my buddies text me after the fight said this is why we have weight classes

I mean Zhang's a very strong woman and van Valentino just kind of threw around like no business Would you be interested in Valentino maybe moving back to 135 to try and test herself? Are you okay with her making those calls? I don't know.

I'm not even thinking about that kind of shit.

Okay. And last one from me. Yesterday, Jorge Masvidal did a Q and A, and he said that the UFC is mad at him for something.

He wouldn't get into details.

I was just talking to him 30 minutes ago.

Why are you mad at him?

I have no problem. I have no problem with him.

The rest of the main card, a couple of star-making performances in Mike Morales and Carlos Pratos. I know you guys have always been high on Carlos, but to put away Leon like that and calling himself the most entertaining fighter in the division, just what did you

make of his, like I said, star making performance out there? Yeah, I mean, listen, when you get these kind of opportunities, you know, like Ewing tonight, I mean, when you get an opportunity, you come to make the most of it.

And there was a lot of that on the card tonight at 11, got to New York at 730, stepped on the scale at 9 a.m., said he's always gonna be ready and just wants the the rocket now. So I guess those last 48 hours have to be one of the most wildest

ones for you guys. Yeah, it's incredible. I mean, definitely for him. It, you know, when he came to the weigh-ins yesterday, I was like man you know much respect what an incredible opportunity for you and no matter what happens tomorrow night I'm gonna be sending you something in the mail and you know I love these guys it's like the guys that are just coming off the contender I mean you got you got Jack Della who tonight was the champion defending against a potential goat and and then you got the other guys that were on the card tonight and then throwing a kid

like Ewing. It's awesome. It's what makes this sport so fun.

And then speaking of Michael Morales, not just his performance today, but kind of all week at the press conference, he kind of came off as a superstar. He got most of the questions. He's had the longest media day.

There's a ton of Ecuador and media here specifically for him. So he's you've got to see money with him.

Yeah. Listen, he's obviously incredibly 19 and oh, he's cool as hell. And yeah, he's got he's got he's got it all. You can check all the boxes with that kid. And then just

last one for me a reaction to Bo Nichols head kick knockout and then getting on the cage and giving the double birds to the New York crowd yeah oh I didn't see that oh yeah I did see that I did see that

what was that about I was in the back well they booned him or something that

he was quote standing up for myself you're gonna give me grief I'm gonna

give it back to you no I don't give a shit I mean that's that's yeah I hear you I just didn't know why he was flipping off I don't know if they were booing him or what was going on. He's had a rough week. Well, that's a

hell of a way to end it. Dana, you were obviously here for Anderson Silva's incredible run in the UFC Islam Makichev ties his record for 16 consecutive wins. Like such crazy things can happen in the sport. I pokes, you know, disqualification, stuff like that. How remarkable

is what he's done matching that record 12 years after Anderson streak ended. Yeah so I was I was like Habib came up to me freaking out and screaming he says can I put the belts on him please I said yeah he goes over there wraps him over the head with both the belt I think he took more damage in getting his belts than he did during the fight and I was saying to Habib I've been in the fight business since I was 20 years old and all I ever hear is this guy's going to be a world champion, this guy's going to do this, this guy's going to do that.

Everybody says the same thing and almost nobody ever does or makes it. His father said, Habib will go in and dominate and he'll have a run and when he's done and then Islam will come in behind him and do the same. And holy shit, it played out exactly the way his father said, which is pretty amazing. I don't know what you asked me, but I hope I answered your question.

No, it was just his winning streak matching Anderson Silva's record.

Yeah, I mean, everything that this kid's accomplished. And to move up in weight and say what you want about Jack and the odds, the odds makers had him a big I didn't I thought that That fight was going to be much much tougher for Islam and Jack's a tough Tough kid and and gritty and you know, he beat below and balls a nightmare for a lot of people. I Thought it was gonna be a lot closer than it was

How hats off to Islam for dominating.

How much of a say will he get and who he wants to fight out of all these guys? Pre-fight he was saying like tomorrow, he was bonds, the greatest welterweight, the biggest name. I think he wants that as like a legacy kind of fight. Maybe like, you know, John one was steeper or something.

It's a great problem to have, you know what I mean? It's like there's so many. When he started, he was walking through Chavcot and Uzman and Ilya, and the list goes on and on. It's a great problem to have, especially when you start talking about this kid as a couple of fights away from possible goat dog.

And I know this is the fight game. Crazy stuff happens all the time, especially behind the scenes. But I was right there on press row and that crazy brawl broke out with Dylan Danis and the member of Habib's team and stuff. Can you just tell us how disappointed you were to see that and any insight into the

fallout? I blame myself for that, actually. They came back and told me right before I walked out for the main card that Dylan Danis was here and he was moving around sitting in fighter seats and not sitting in his own seat that he had, he had a ticket. And they said, do you want us to throw him out of here?

And I said, he has a ticket? And I said, yeah. And, you know, they told me, they said, Masvidal said he's going to fuck him up on sight. And I said, well, where's Masvidal sitting? He said, well, he's six or seven rows away from Masvidal. I said, well, if the guy has a ticket, let him sit in his seat and let him let him do what he's doing and keep an eye on him. It never even crossed my mind as stupid as this could be that the entire Muslim Brotherhood was here tonight in the first five rows for Islam. And as soon as it broke out, I was over on the other side

and I go, fuck, I know exactly what that is. I knew it. And yeah, you will never see Dylan Dannis at a UFC fight ever again.

Yeah, I was going to say, he's wanted badly to come in this company. And he said you guys don't want to sign him because he makes too much trouble, I guess, point made.

Well, that and a lot of other reasons. But yeah, you'll never see him at another fight so they called me from downstairs and they said we got him down here do you want to press charges and have him arrested and I said no we don't want to press charges it's this is the fight business man you know how I feel about this shit this you know and and I could have prevented this tonight and and I I messed up yeah

anyone else get arrested or anything like that? Not that I'm aware of, no.

We're not pressing charges. I'm not speaking for MSG or anybody else that was involved in this thing. I don't know, but we the UFC are not pressing charges against anybody.

Cool, and just last with me, we're here halfway through November. No fights announced for 2026 yet. I know you guys are working on a lot of stuff,

but when can we maybe start expecting dates and fight announcements? Yeah, we got obviously the first fight on Paramount that we got to put together and then after this year ends, the big one is the White House fight. So I don't know. We'll get it done though.

Dana straight down here down the middle. What are your thoughts on where Leon Edwards goes now from here? Three losses in a row and they progressively got worse.

So yeah, yeah, it was a rough one tonight. I don't know. Um, Leon will go home, spend, take some time and then we'll get back with him and see what he's thinking. Where's how to add his at and go from there. Do you think perhaps his best days are behind him? Well, I have no idea. I mean, when you get in there you know there was a lot of buzz on this card you know why? Because every one of these fights was badass tonight that's why and you know anything can happen when you get in

there start mixing it up with the best in the world so. And final one for me a few weeks removed from UFC 321 though though, Chad, the unfortunate eye poke of Tom Aspel. I'm curious, have you spoken to Tom in recent weeks and is there any update

on him? There's no update. What he needs to do is stay home, get well, stay off the Internet and start training and get ready to come back. Thank you.

Thanks. Dana, you mentioned Islam as a potential go to so I was wondering, how do you think the pound for pound ranking is going to look like next Monday?

What do I think the pound for pound is going to look like?

Yeah.

Yeah. I think Islam's going to be number one.

That's what I think.

But it's not up to me. It's up to you guys. You guys have guys voting that shit now me and if you had to we know you like to do and you're usually wrong So it'll probably bomb it'll probably Ilya

And if you had to do a goat ranking as of right now currently with John Jones still be the first one

Yes, John Jones is still the goat Whether you like it or not, go ahead sir. Yeah

I want to talk about the main event. You said it wasn't the most exciting fight. You're not scared to criticize a ref. Do you think Herb Dean should have stood him up? There wasn't that much action going on.

No, I think that in both fights, the co-main and main, they got the takedown. They got the dominant position. They were trying to work. They were trying to work. They're trying to move. You know, it's definitely not what everybody wants to see, but it is what everybody in this room and everybody who watches this press conference knew what the game plan would be.

If Jack couldn't stop the takedown, then he at least better be able to get back to his feet. And if he couldn't, you knew how this was going to play out.

Every single week it seems like you're asked about a different location and you say you want to go here you want to go there. In 2026, 2027 will we start seeing you more on the road and less Apex shows?

I've been home like fucking 10 days this year. Are we not traveling enough for you sir? Yeah, no we're to keep doing exactly what. I seriously, what have I been home? I've been home like eight or nine days in the last 40 days. Do you want me to never go home, sir?

Is that what you're asking me? Less Apex shows. We're definitely doing less Apex shows. Yeah.

All right, and my last question. You do, besides doing shows, you go to like special locations. I think you went to the Sphere, you went to the White House. Do you have anything else, like,

a specific location you want to go to, not necessarily a city, but like a spot?

Hmm. Spain. Yeah, we haven't done Spain. Yeah.

Just right here. Talking about Europe, can you give us any news about the potential rematch between Thomas Pinal and Serge Gann?

About the rematch with?

Pinal.

What about it?

Any potential news about the?

I just answered that.

Oh, didn't do it. Sorry. Welcome to the press conference, sir. No, sorry. Second one, Benoit Saintony asked for a BMF title. Does he have the right profile for you to get this belt?

I don't know. You know, he did, yes. And, you know, I don't even think about that stuff tonight. You know, we'll fly home tonight, have all day tomorrow, get back in the office Monday, and then Tuesday we start. You know what I mean?

I don't even think about that stuff tonight. Thanks. But I understand. Listen, he wants to fight for the BMF. Pratis tonight was all over me. He wanted to get back into the octagon and square off with Islam.

Everybody's all fired up tonight. We got to take some time to figure out what we're going to do next.

And just a little one, we have three number one contenders in France, Manu Furor, Cyril Gann, and Nasruddin Imamov. Can we have big events in France, more than a fight night in the future?

Yeah, I mean, what's crazy is I always talk about going to the UK and seeing events, the crowds, and all this stuff. Listen, France is pound for pound and the mix for, uh, as far as crowds go. So I I'm also one of the owners of SLS skate league. We just did a skate competition there and the French kid pulled off a trick there

and the place went crazy and everybody started, it was sold out. Everybody started throwing their water bottles into the it's pretty badass in France the the live events so the long-winded answer to your question is yes thank you sir yes sir

Dennis straight ahead I know the focus is on 322 and rightfully so but big picture I mean what you guys did in Vegas with Canelo and Crawford tonight at MSG planning for the White House guard you've come so far from working for Peter Welch in selfie is there a lesson that you still hold on to from that time? I mean, it's amazing where you were and where you are now.

Yeah, what's the question?

A lesson that you learned from Peter back, I think you were 19, 20 back then?

I learned everything from him. Everything about the fight business I learned from him. Everything you still hold, the principles you still apply now? Well different I mean you know we learned the fight game from him and then I had to get into you know when Lorenzo Frank and I did our first live event we'd never done a production ever we'd never done production was our first time ever so there's obviously been a lot of on-the-job, you know, training for me. But yeah, I mean, I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Peter.

And it's amazing how, just to follow up on that, the expectations, they grow bigger every year. You just mentioned Spain. I mean, that's a long way away from your first ever production. I mean,

it's amazing, again, the growth year by year. Yeah, well, the two biggest things that, first, the sphere. I mean, you know, I thought we'd open the gateway, and you notice nobody's going to the fucking sphere to try to do what we did. Literally nobody is. And then now pulling off the White House is,

the sphere was technically challenging, and this is going to be logistically challenging.

And in terms of you mentioned Spain, Madrid, Barcelona,

probably the big cities if you did get to go there?

Yeah.

Thank you.

Yep.

John, I'm here from Tunnel Vision Sports. You kind of spoke about having a good problem in this aspect. How do you feel about the overall depth of the current fighters on your roster in a full circle moment? How do I feel about the what? The depth of your current roster. The entire roster? The entire from all the divisions. How do you feel about you know the talent the UFC has? Really good I think that you know if you

start I mean the 55-pound division is nasty now 70s nasty I mean as you go you know when you look at the top 15 and and and all of the weight classes we're in a good pretty good place you go through you know it goes like this with different weight classes at different points of time but yeah we're really

happy with where we're at. Dana around here, I know you're a big boxing fan. Did you happen to catch the Connor Ben Chris Eubank Jr rematch?

I didn't see it, but you know, I got the updates on it. Yeah, but I didn't see it. And I heard this crowd was going crazy out there. Fight was that everybody was really into the fight.

Yeah. And did you see the fight that's reportedly being worked on for December 19th in Miami?

Did I see the fight being worked on on December 19th in Miami? Yeah. No

Do you know which fight i'm talking about no

Oh jesus, um

That's a fucking bad idea That's a bad idea But let me tell you what A lot of people watch that one

Will you watch it?

Sure

You know what? Everybody's tuning in for on that one Then I think everybody's gonna get what they finally been waiting for

Dana over here. Mm-hmm back here. I know you mentioned Islam joining the goat debate potentially

Where do you rank Khabib in terms of goats of coaches?

I don't know. I I don't rank coaches as goats

Dana quick one right over here. Yeah, I know you spoke about Ethan Ewing already But this is a guy who came across the country on two days notice shocked the world and changed his life. What kind of Message or notice do you think other fighters or lessons other fighters should take from something like that?

Well, I don't know if there's lessons to be learned by that. You're either that guy or you're not. It's not something like, oh, that guy did it, I should probably do that too. You're built differently than everybody else is. Even Jon Jones, I mean, you guys know how I feel about John Jones. John Jones turned down a short notice fight against Chael Sonnen

because his team told him to. That's one of the most fucking, it's just, I still get mad when I think about it, how fucking dumb that was. But, you know, this kid's wired differently than a lot of people are.

Thank you, sir.

Yep.

Dana, can you reflect on your relationship with ESPN and also look forward to the relationship with CBS Paramount Plus?

Yeah, all the Paramount CBS people here tonight. Yeah, all the Paramount CBS people here tonight and these guys are so fired up about this relationship. It just fires us up even more. So we're excited about it and I

look at you know, the path that we've taken to get here. We started on Spike TV from there. We went to Fox. Then we went to ESPN and now we have this Paramount deal. It's almost like it's been the perfect trajectory and you know I say it all the time public. I had a little

bit of a rocky start with ESPN and a couple of different departments but we ended up having an incredible relationship with them and I have a lot of respect for ESPN and all the people that work there and I appreciate everything they did for this company over the last seven years.

Quick follow up, how is Aspen gone in the mix to be the first Paramount Plus CBS match?

We haven't even talked or thought about anything. When I tell you guys that February, we were literally not even thinking about the White House fight yet because I want to see how the rest of this year plays out.

Hey, Dana, what are your thoughts about Michael Morales wings and what you should think is

next for him?

Thoughts on Michael Morales? What do you think should be next for him?

I don't know, sir. I won't think about that till Tuesday. Thank you.

Thank you. Just one for me I thought going back to John Jones I think he said yesterday he has nothing to apologize to you for did he ever apologize about the

Shell Summit thing? Does he need to apologize? I don't know if he did. I don't think so. You know, I think that he was in a position where he had coaches in a team and they all wanted to have input into what he did and and he listened to them and fucking crazy. Anyway, yeah, no, I talked to John Jones last night actually Yeah, I got nothing to say about it all I just talked to him last night Good thanks guys. Have a great night .

. . . . . . Hello, everyone.

Same concept. We're going to start with all the questions from North America in English, and any questions in Spanish, we'll leave it for afterwards.

Valentina, right here to your right. Congratulations. That was an extremely dominant and impressive performance. How did it go relative to your expectations and your game

plan?

Hard to say. I definitely expected a lot of, I was preparing for a war. I even took all my anti-inflammatory pills with me because I didn't know how I gonna walk out from the octagon. But I feel that as a training camp and all trainings what I did in preparation for this fight,

it was so hard that it's helped me to have

like more less hard fight. It was so hard that it helped me to have

like more less hard fight. But it was not something that I felt like, oh, it's gonna be easy, something like that, or during the fight I felt, no. During the fight, from the very beginning to the very end, I could not like let myself to be very end, I could not let myself to be very sure, oh, it's going great, and I relaxed now.

No, because fighting with the highest level opponent, Weylie, and she's highest level opponent, very dangerous in every moment. And knowing that she has this knockout power one punch It's kind of like when I saw I had several body kicks that is kind of like was yeah One more and it's gonna beat but then you have to remember if you approach too early too soon

there is a punch that's gonna hit you very hard and you might be like finish on the ground, on the floor, and you don't wanna do that. That's why I say the highest level, it's every time they don't, so you don't have any right to make any mistake. That's why, for example, we can see so many knockouts or like other

when the level of the fighters a little bit different, but when the level is kind of like the same in the highest, it's going to be more struggle between each other.

What does it say about you that you can go in there and win every round against someone that you consider to be such a high level fighter?

I don't know. You tell me what it say about me. I think it says you're one of the best ever

and you have the records now. Yes, of course. Do you, does that mean anything to you tonight to tie Amanda Nunes' record for most championship fights in women's history?

And this term, it doesn't mean for me, like to tie, I'm not chasing here to tie someone or like anything, no, but the victory over someone as Whaley, it means a lot. And it's not only about the fight, but this preparation for the fight.

It was one of the largest, longest, and hardest training camp I ever had. Especially like, I felt this morning I woke up and I had that feeling that I just fought in Montreal and now I have to do it again. It's like so back to back for me

because training never stopped and training camp never stopped. That's why it's very important, this victory is very important for me.

You told me to ask you after the fight when we spoke before about Kayla Harrison saying she would like to fight you at 135 at the White House if you won this.

What do you think about that now?

I think it's one of the possibilities, yes, and I consider that. It's kind of like for now I want to take care of injuries that I have, that's kind of like migrating from training camp to training camp with me. But after maybe a week or something like that, we will have our conversation with my team,

with my coach, Pavel, and decide what is next. Because I feel there is good challengers in flyweight as well. Erin, Natalia. And bent and weighed, now we have Amanda or Kyla. And I would say probably fans would love to see Amanda trilogy

because it was unfinished business. But at the same time, it's unclear yet if she returns or not returns, if she's fighting or not fighting, and also it's unknown in what shape she's going to return, like half Amanda or maybe full Amanda, who knows. Yeah, but Kyla is also one of the possibilities and it's going to be another super challenge.

You know, Whaley didn't seem very committal on staying at Flyweight or going back to Strawweight. So after spending time in there, do you think she has the physical tools to stay in this division?

Or do you think she would be better off going back

to Strawweight?

Oh, yeah, definitely. She has all the tools, physical tools, in the Flyweight division. And it's up to her if she wanna stay here or she wanna go back to strawweight. It's all up to her but she has it all in both weight classes.

How hard did she hit compared to some of your previous opponents that you fought for the

title?

Hard to say because I was like, I was not there to receive the punch. I was there to manage the distance.

Understood. And as far as the size, it really just seemed like you were able to bully her. Your size advantage was pretty clear. And I'm not saying you were just throwing her around because you were larger. You obviously have very good takedowns. We've seen that part of your game, but did you notice that that was kind of something

that was very much a clear advantage that you're just like, well, I'm just gonna keep going to the well for this, because it's working.

It was very rare occasions where I fight someone who is shorter than me. Usually in all my career, doesn't matter if it's flyweight, bantamweight, every time my opponents are taller, like and I have to battle with the managers in the distance, the range and everything.

But I would say Jessica Andrade and Weylie, the only fighters who was a little bit shorter than me. And I say that I like it.

I was going to say, is that a preferable situation for you? So I mean, I think that's pretty much it.

You covered me.

Thank you.

Valentino, right here in the front. Very similar question that he just asked. The commentators, they kept saying during the fight that you were so much bigger than her, you're stronger. There's a reason why there's weight classes, but then the fight right after we saw someone move up a weight and dominate, very similar to how you did.

Do you think that maybe that is getting stressed too much and not how great your wrestling was? I mean, if you think about it, Tatiana Suarez is a very decorated wrestler and she couldn't take Weylie down and you took her down with ease. Oh yeah, it's definitely, there is all levels

and I feel definitely, I don't say that it's just the size because if it's only the size, it never will bring any victory, only the size. For example, my previous opponent from France, she was bigger than me, she was taller

and I had to battle it and I did what I had to do, I won the fight. And managing, throwing the distance, the control, the punches, it's not about size. It's about how good you control your body, like weight, and like how good you can manage this

because you can be big, but without a good control. You have to know your skills and it's only come with experience. And I would say this is everything what I did today in the fight, it's only because of my experience in martial arts.

32 years, it's not a joke. Do every time what I have to do for like to make this fight exactly how it was.

Valentina back here. Congratulations on the victory. What was it like to make this fight exactly how it was. Valentina, back here. Congratulations on the victory. What was it like to share the card with another GOAT like Islam Makachev, another legend?

You know, it's amazing. It's a huge card. It's in Madison Square Garden. And definitely it's one of the last events of the year. And definitely so many bright and big names. And Islam, he did a very good job and my congratulations to him. But the specific of our job, what we are doing, it's kind of like very hard to actually in the moment think about it you don't think about fight card you don't think about when you you

don't think about anything else just your opponent in front of you

congratulations thank you hi Valentina um congrats first last time we spoke together was in Montreal and you told me this thing that you love when you see in the eyes of your opponent when they break when did that happen with Wiley tonight and Does her surprise you in any kind of way? I would say like after second round

She already felt but as I'm saying she is such a professional and experienced fighter that you cannot like discard that yeah they're broken. No, she was fighting till the end but you know funny that one of the moment in the fourth or fifth round she was talking to the her corners so she was asking them something I don't know maybe it was something that you were saying about.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

You've been able to stand in the ring with the best of them, and Weylie also being one of the most prominent fighters in the world as well. When you fought Nunes and other fighters like that, how much did those moments, those key moments in big fights prepare you for a fight like this?

Every fight. And it's not only big fight against champion. Every single fight, it's teach you something. Even you are thinking it's going to be, oh, OK, it's another challenge. No, it's going to teach you so much.

And it's good. It's very good. It's adding more experience, more knowledge for your future. And it's very important. More fights is better. When I, for example, just was starting my career,

I was fighting everywhere. I was fighting taekwondo, all like North, South Korean, karate, all like Kokusinkai, Siteru, Shotokan, all types. My coach, Pavel, had so many friends in different organization and he was someone calling us, like, we have competition this Saturday in karate.

Do you wanna participate? And yeah, I will send some students. So I fought there. Then the next week, different rules, different competition. And that is what I say developed me as a complete fighter, as a universal fighter.

But now it's good that MMA young fighters, they don't have to do all of this. They just come and train MMA because MMA is a sport itself. It's very beautiful, very universal and very versatile sports that I love so much.

Valentina, congratulations on your victory. I'm sorry to repeat the questions because I've already said them in English, but I wanted to ask you. You mentioned Natalia and Erin as possible rivals that excite you. Also the possibility of competing with Kayla or Amanda.

If you had to choose, who excites you more, who I would like to face the most. I don't know how she feels, I mean as a fighter, if she still has this fire inside of her. Because it is also very important. If a fighter only comes to fight for money, it is not worth anything.

They have to have this fire inside. I'm not going to say it. Thank you. I think that people forget that in the second fight, a lot of people saw you win.

So I think that there is a certain injustice in that you were at she was too small or something like that. Before the fight, during the whole week of the fight, everyone was saying that they were very even. A lot of people thought that she was going to win. Yes. So, I did hear that. But, as I said, the advantage is not the size. The advantage is the experience. The advantage is everything that I have practiced for 32 years,

that I do martial arts.

The advantage is true. I think it's a good strategy. Definitely, people are watching a trilogy. The second fight, both were close, but the second fight, most people saw you win.

Another person still has to return to the sport. We can't have a fight without a opponent who is still resting.

We have seen you managing the distance, the counterattack, even being not static but standing while she was trying to find the angles.

What was the game plan? We train everything. We train distance, we train grappling, wrestling, everything is possible. Because a martial artist fighter cannot allow himself not to know something well. He has to know and dominate in all aspects. And really, when I go out to fight, I have everything prepared and ready. So that it depends on my opponent's actions, I will choose the tactics. This is the most important thing, because it is a feeling. When you feel how the fight is going.

Because if you have a game plan, maybe it doesn't work. You have another plan, maybe it doesn't work. You have another plan. Maybe it doesn't work. You have to correct and change everything very soon, very quickly. You don't have time to go back to your corner and listen to what they're going to tell you. You have to make a decision now. But for that, you have to train a lot in all aspects. And I always, when I go out in the fight, I have everything ready, but the real plan will come out depending on my opponent.

If I'm not mistaken, we saw you in Spain a few months before the fight. We will see you again soon. Is there a specific place you would like to go to train or visit?

I love it. I love it. I was in Spain because we traveled to Morocco, Morocco in Tangier, and there, crossing this, in Spanish how to say, the tariff, yes, then, narrow,cho, si. Exacto. Y nosotros, si, claro, estando en Tangier, tomamos esta oportunidad y viajamos a España. Pero, si, me encanta. Yo nunca no estuve en España por otras ciudades. Pero mi entrenador, él estaba en Barcelona.

Dice que es muy bonito, muy lindo. Y, si, de verdad, me gustaría conocer mucho. Gracias. It's very beautiful and I would like to get to know it.

Thank you. . . . . . I know this is a moment you've dreamt of for a long time. Islam, down here to your right. Congratulations. I know this is a moment you've dreamt of for your entire career as long as we've talked to you.

How good does it feel to have it happen compared to all your dreams about it?

I feel so happy. I stay now like try to control, but it's the biggest day in my life and so happy to be double UFC champion in Madison Square Garden. What I told all fight week is my dream today.

Did you think that it was going to be my best. I'm going to do my best to make it my dream today. Did you think it was going to be that one-sided?

Were you expecting Jack to show more resistance on the ground? When I take him down the first time, I feel it's going to be a long night. I can do whatever I want in the ground because I expect for him like he gonna try to get up but we're working we watch his all fights he have couple like sweep a couple things in the ground but I block him there and that's why I make this

easy. What did you say to Craig Jones after?

I told him, you're in Jiu-Jitsu not working, you have to come to Dagestan for two, three years.

What did he say?

He start laughing, he tell Khabib, I will come Dagestan.

This is obviously your first fight at welterweight, how much better do you think the performances can get as you grow into this weight class?

I feel better today. I feel like I never felt before. I feel more power, more I feel I can control anyone in the ground and I never feel like that, sure.

What do you think that going forward like in this division a lot of good guys, some big performances tonight, Ilja called you out, Michael Morales and Carlos Prochast both want a shot, Shavkot wants a shot, Usman wants a shot. Who's the guy?

Everybody wants something. This is the most competitive division right now, Walter Wade. Sure, 100%. Like a lot of young guys who fought today. Next week we're going to fight a couple of guys. Also Kamaru, Tapuria, you know. Who fought today next week's gonna fight couple guys and also come our

warrior, you know All killers want to take my belts No, no, I don't give you no High working so hard to be double champion and I feel today. I don't have to cut much weight and

I'm gonna defend my belt many many times more. I don't know if you saw his tweet he said you're like the most boring fighter in the UFC or something like that. I know you said to ask us or ask you about him after the fight at media day.

Can you give us your full thoughts on a fight with him now?

No injury, nothing. I don't feel any pains. I'm ready. Who is gonna be next? Let's do this and I will make it easy. And today I show you. Jake's one of the best in this game, you know, one of the hardest opponent. That's why I prepare so hard to make this easy. This is our plan. I did exactly.

He defends. I tried to do some chokes, tried to make Kimura, but he defends very well. I make this easy because I training so hard.

I know you said you didn't want to think about the double champ, the 16 fight winning streak, the Anderson Silva record before the fight, but you've done all that now. Dana was in here, he said you're part of the goat talk now, especially if you defend that belt a few times.

You asked Dana I'm the pound for pound best fighter right now?

He said you should be number one pound for pound.

Okay, thank you. You know, I don't know which record we have to beat now. What's the record? Well, one more and you'll have the longest winning streak in UFC history. Okay, let's do this. I'm ready. You know, what I told, life has changed. No more cutting weight and I feel better in Walter White.

And just last one, you're obviously getting ready for the fight backstage and a huge brawl breaks out with some of your teammates and Dylan Danis. Dana was in here talking about it, he said it was his fault letting them sit too close to each other but did was that a distraction at all or what did he think of all that?

When you talk about someone like last five years, last five years you talk about someone, when you meet them, you have to answer what you said. And today I don't think he answered. And he still say a lot of bad things about our team and today he coming and somebody just meet him. He talk about this guy's bad and today the guys just meet him. That's it.

Dana said he's banned from UFC events for life so he'll never be back to one.

He better have to be banned from this country also.

Islam, of all the welterweights that fought today, who do you think had the most impressive performance besides yourself?

From today?

Yeah. Yeah, I saw the both fights, you know. had the most impressive performance besides yourself? From today? Yeah.

Yeah, I saw the both fights. Prates, he beat former champion, like clear knockout. They're both very good, very tough, young. And I surprised how these guys who smoke all day beat the former champion.

He said, Carlos Prata said, that's what Nutella will do for you, the power.

I don't know who like his nutritionist. These guys look big, but don't cut much weight. But he's good. Crazy performance. He finished as a former champion. He made it easy.

In terms of your fight, did you feel like you had broken Jack in there?

Because between rounds when the camera was on him, he looked like he was struggling to get up and off the stool first couple around he try more. You know do some things but Third and like champions around I feel he not gonna He not gonna stand you know and this guy's my corners They pressure may hold him there like beat him in the ground, but in the striking goes up he's not fast enough he I saw his all punches. He became a little bit tired after the first round. I can strike with him, but I just want to make it easy.

Did you toss Ali in there?

Yeah, I show him judo

judo technique

Islam when you talk about Jack's grappling why exactly are you so much better at it? Is it a strength thing? Is it a technique thing? Does he not know as much as you why is it that you were able to control him so easily?

Because I have more skills in the ground and I feel power today. You know I can hold him no problem. I don't know how it's called, these things he makes for Bilal, for everybody. He tried to make these sweeps on me also, but I just put the underhook and control him. I think he just have one move in the ground. I just block this move and that's it.

Do you think there was a moment in the fight, maybe after the first or second round, where he started concentrating on not getting submitted rather than getting up?

Yeah, from the choke, he defense very well. And when I just put my arm in the corner, I try to tell him, hey, two hands, two hands. Control his hand by two hands. And he defends very well.

Well, maybe that's what Craig Jones told him.

He's the best shot in this fight when he give me legs in the end of the first round.

Islam, right over here. In this camp, in the lead of the first round. Islam, right over here. You met in this camp, in the lead up to this, you did three parts in three different countries to prepare for this fight. How happy are you with the camp you had and the decisions your team made to help you

get prepared for this fight?

Yeah, I told them last week, this is the hardest camp in my life. First camp, usually first camp you just beginning to be like in shape to back in the shape. But first camp, it was like hardest camp. We was in the mountain in the Kislovodsk,

this is the one of the city in Russia. They have big Olympic center for all Olympic sports. And I spent three there like three three weeks and we did a lot of weights and I eat on time to gain weight, you know, I have one of the coach He's the one of the head coach of take on the Russian team, you know, his name's a fuller

I did with him like crazy job with him. The first camp was the hardest one and I improved a lot from that camp. What we need is to gain weight, to become strong, to become big. This is from the first camp.

And obviously your team helped you prepare like they always do but this fight you know everybody helped you in in terms of you know bulking up and then and then training partners and stuff like that your coaches the guys in your corner tonight what does it mean to bring this victory back to the whole entire team?

This is what I have to do to make them happy. We support and help each other, not for the money, for the somethings. Just I win, they happy. And same things when someone fight from our camp, our team, I go to tell help them. I don't have fight, I just go to the camp, help them. Second camp, what we did in Dubai, we just go to Dubai to support, to help Osman and Omar to prepare. We go, all team, we went to Dubai,

just help these two guys to become better, you know and we wish wish like to each other to become better you know not just not because of money because of something because we're all

brothers and last for me I hate to use the word easy because nothing of what you did this week this month the past couple months are easy, but where does this fight rank in terms of one of your easiest, you know, wins?

Good question. Camps. Camps is the one of the hardest one. This is the hardest camp, but fights maybe I beat first, second time I beat Volk. It's by knockout in the last fight I choke. But today is easy also, but I not finish him.

Thank you. Islam, right in front of you. Congratulations on the victory tonight. So heading into the event tonight, Zhang Weili was in a very similar situation as you was. She's obviously a long reigning champion, dominant, one of the greatest fighters ever. She moved up, unfortunately for her, she struggled tonight, couldn't get the second belt.

Do you think that kind of reflects to show how incredible a feat it was for you to be able to do that?

Honestly, I saw the... what name?

Janvaeri.

Janvaeri. She looks small, you know, in this fight. That's why Valentina make his job like very also easy he just close the hand and always take that take her down, you know and Maybe she not working on that moment to gain weight to become a little bit big, you know Because this is the big difference when you change the weight class you have to be

not just

Eat and become big, you know, you have to do right just eat and become big. You have to do the right job to become stronger and bigger.

My second question, I know Dana didn't say who you're going to fight next, you didn't really say either, but Michael Morales was just in here and I said to him, everybody that has faced you said they either can stop your takedowns or they can get up if you take them down and it seems like nobody can do that. And then I asked him what makes him different, why can he stop your takedowns and he kind of flipped the question and he said everybody says they can take me down and nobody has been able to take me down yet.

What makes Islam special to take me down?

Same things everybody say, I'm gonna knock out Islam. If I stay, they're gonna knock me out. But I'm gonna try one time, two times, three times, he gonna defense, but I'm gonna still going. And I told you guys in the Walter weight, I don't think someone can stop my wrestling.

And my last question, during this run the only person to even give you a competitive fight it seemed like was the Alex Volkanovski in the first fight. Do you think the run you're on and how dominant you are moving up a weight class and everything just kind of shows how great

of a fighter Alex Volkanovski is and especially at that time? Sure, Volkanovskiy gave me the hardest fight in my life, but that day in Australia, this is the baddest day for me and for some of the fighters to fight. Five in the morning, we wake up and fight in the morning and someone goes to the arena at five in the morning. How can you fight? I am so lucky to fight last one. I fight like 10 or 11.

That's why he give me hardest fight there.

That's it.

You got a lot of love from New York throughout this week.

I'm also surprised.

You were surprised?

Yeah.

Why were you surprised?

Because always in the U.S. there are old people, the crowd not in my sight.

And obviously, yeah, it was very monstrous. Everyone was really supportive of you at the press conference and then tonight they were chanting Islam, Islam, Islam. I mean, you've never had that in America. What did you think kind of brought them to your side, though?

Yeah, yeah. Maybe people start to like me. I don't know. But, you know, when all my life when I travel somewhere, Australia or Abu Dhabi also people support me always. But US fan start to love me.

Are you expecting kind of similar reception next time you fight in America? I hope. Now obviously you put together a really impressive performance in there. You're thinking, okay, I've finally achieved this dream, I got my Walter Way Championship. At what point do you start maybe wondering, could I go for a third championship? Is that a thing or no?

Well, DC bring me cake in the locker room. It's going to be so hard. I don great today. I feel I is the my weight division and I'm gonna defense my belt many times more

And I'll ask them for me you you took a water from in front of me when you were walking back to the cage afterward What did you end up doing with that water?

Thank you, I'm so sorry, but I was wanting water. I almost finished this water.

It wasn't my water anyway.

Thank you.

Islam, congratulations on your achievement. You've mentioned how special it was for you. But I was wondering, Dana mentioned before that 20 years or 10 years ago, Khabib's father said to him that Khabib was gonna have a run, he was gonna be a champion, and then you would be a champion and you would defend for many times. I was wondering how proud do you think Khabib's father would be if he could have seen you achieve this and what he would have he said. He would be proud of me.

And you know, the lightweight in our gym is one of the competitive divisions, you know. Like, we have PFL champion, Usman. We have Chang-Ko already, like, big star. Even not fighting in the UFC. And we have a lot of more guys who are gonna come and control the lightweight in the UFC

very soon.

Under the cleanest shots in Dylan Danes. Do you think that would make him more of a star?

Canko is a good striker. Let's not talk about the shit person. We're going to smell the shit. We're still talking about the shit person. Thank you guys. Thank you for all life.

You promote me always. Thank you so much.

I really appreciate it. Thanks for watching. . . . . .