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once I got to the back um it was pretty much going to be over I just had to be patient he’s a very tough and durable fighter so I had to be patient out there and uh I I I knew eventually the Finish was going to come how tight was his rear naked choke on you it wasn’t tight at all uh that’s why uh you can see me like uh even like readjusting my gloves while he had the choke because I wasn’t even fighting the hands because it wasn’t tight at all um so yeah I just knew that I I I knew I wasn’t in danger but I knew it wasn’t looking good for the judges so I knew I had to get out of there at the start of the fight would you surprised with how he came out the gate you know not touching gloves and then trying to go threw a hook at you uh not really uh I knew he was going to come out hard trying to swing uh he likes a high paac spip so I knew I knew we were going to scramble a lot I knew it was going to be a high pace so I was just going to go out there slow down and and find the Finish do you think he would maybe too emotional coming into this fight at you um yeah maybe he from the face off when I uh when we did the face offs uh I could tell that he was a little bit emotional a little bit mad uh and um nervous I think he was too nervous so that’s why he reacted like that I think he didn’t really handle the pressure well so uh I think that’s why he reacted like that uh with him having this an osity towards you and then you finish in the way you did is this your most satisfying Victory um not like every Victory is satisfying you know uh doesn’t make it more special I but I knew I just had a uh there was a little bit of beef because I got sick in Mexico and uh he was talking like that he came out clean out of the fight that he won pretty easy and this and that when the fight didn’t even happen so uh that’s where it all started I was like okay uh I’m going to finish him uh I’m going to go out and and and see if he comes out clean after this fight now you mentioned earlier this week you mentioned you want a top 15 opponent as your next fight a big name um do you have somebody in mind nobody in mind that’s why I haven’t called anybody specifically but I do want a big fight next uh hopefully my next fight will be at the sphere Mexican Independence Day so uh I want to make it big and uh get a big name uh for that fight card yes sir congrats thank you hey R um was there anything different in Camp preparing for Ricky this time obviously you mentioned his pace and his pressure um and that’s a little bit different than your previous opponents uh can you talk us through what you did differently maybe this Camp it was a very long Camp so first I want to thank everybody all my coaches uh I did have different coaches from the first fight that we were going to fight and the second fight the first fight I was in the mountain in magico since January uh croon to me 3,200 m above SE level uh just me and my team u a from Russia Dimitri usanov Rafael Marquez for my boxing my father and my brothers and for this Camp I had my father and my brothers and included uh Eric Nixon from extreme Couture uh Andy berel um coach Crouch from the MMA lab so uh I just was able to put all that together and I knew I had to work a lot on my cardio because I knew he was going to make me work for the finish so uh I was ready for it you obviously mentioned uh Eric nixi and Tim Crouch um can you talk through like what they bring specifically like differently in terms of like a game plan or something like that uh both of them coach Crouch and um Eric Nixon have a lot of knowledge on the game you know so they’re really smart studying Fighters and breaking down the plan and not only that they they teach me how to work specifically on that plan and uh have different options on how to make that plan work so uh I’m very grateful to be around those people that uh share their experience with me their knowledge they’ve made Champions they’ve uh done a really good job with their teams uh extreme Couture and the MMA lab they have a lot of promising Fighters so uh I’m grateful to be part of it awesome congratulations thank you Ro right here brother um you said uh in the post fight you dedicated the fight to uh somebody do you want to speak on that as well yeah um Trevor Cooper uh he was uh on my corner for my last fight on September um he passed away in Las Vegas uh you know um he was a really smart guy a really amazing Grappler he teached me a lot and uh I still had a lot to learn from him he was the only guy that could have ta me not only because I’m talking about him because he passed away or this or that uh he could tap me like it was crazy he could tap me 10 times in 2 minutes if he wanted to and it was crazy uh you know uh we would even play around and I knew he was going for a triangle and I couldn’t stop it you know it was just anybody that knows him knows how high level his- Jitsu was so I’m grateful to just had learned a little bit of Knowledge from his Jitsu and made me a much better fighter so he passed away and uh I just want to make sure he’s remembered and where does the where does the composure and the maturity that you have at such a young age come from I think because I’ve been around the game for a long time uh OB these contracts all this negoti negotiations uh you know uh getting a new contract on the UFC uh signing this I need that uh talking about business over here um this made me a mature guy for 19 years old you know uh uh especially knowing like what I want in my life uh what I want next and it just made me a mature mature guy and were there any words exchanged between you and Ricky teros after yeah I was telling him like uh he was telling me all respect and I was like yeah I respect and he said that he had the same thing planned like tell me it was all respect and I was like yeah I was like um you disrespected me first though you know I was like you disrespected me by by over here saying uh uh that I pulled out this or that and he was like no you disrespect ected me first by by breaking the Bushido code or whatever and um and then I was like I was like bro that’s something I couldn’t control you know I was sick and he told me that he was sick as well he told me he had staff this week his me whatever whatever um but you know uh hopefully he doesn’t use that as as an excuse that’s the reason why I didn’t step out in Meto City because if I would have stepped out in Meto City I wasn’t going to bring up that I was sick if if I had lost in meico city I was going to leave it at that so uh you know if he was really sick and had STA and went out there I think it was just a dumb decision you know so um I didn’t do that and uh what’s the performance of the night bonus going towards it’s going towards buying my mama house that’s what it’s going towards uh I I I when I came in the company I bought my mama Minivan and like I said it’s time to go Big M and buy her a house cheers brother thank you good thank very much ra one more question over here what left first of all uh congrats on your performance tonight big win by the way and on your post fight interview you said big p energy where does that come from Big be high energy it comes from again from my boy Carlos and me you know it’s it’s an energy we can only uh me and him only bring and and anybody around our team we bring it everywhere you know everywhere everywhere we go uh we got to bring that big p energy and that’s the results we get from that big p energy and one more question what is the fail to have two handsome Brothers in your corner tonight man uh it feels amazing you know uh fck I don’t know what to say to that thank you e e man congrats on the victory man initial thoughts thank you and uh my initial thought is feels great feels amazing um yeah yeah after everything you’ve been through is this is this just a big relief it’s a relief absolutely um when he hit me that was a relief I was like I’m still here you know um the questions about I had so many questions just questioning myself um and then I saw my performance and I was like Wow and I felt it out there and I was like I really do love this this and I’m not going anywhere mhm are we going to see a new you moving forward you’re going to see me this is me I’m winning let’s go what um who would you like to face next I have no names no nothing like that I’m just focus I was focused on today and that was it um going forward we’ll see um it’s more about dates than opponents for me um so well how soon would you like to return I’m not sure uh like I said in the ring yeah I’m going to be getting married here soon um so I got to do that first and then uh go from there but you know it would be really cool to be some part of something historic like this sphere but uh even then we’ll see Tom hey um can you talk about how like this is a a long streak from you and and without even being in the cage not winning right two years off yeah blood clots yeah surgeries yeah can you talk about it like just a little bit what that one feeling was like coming back in in front of a live crowd winning getting all this off your back that’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of since I was a small child you know wanting to be a professional athlete W the walk out the reception I received from the crowd you know the reception I’ve been receiving from the fans has been a dream come true you know being respected for what I do and the resilience I have as a man not just as a fighter you know I’m getting knocked down but I’m doesn’t matter I’m still fighting I’m still here and I’m still capable to put anybody’s lights out you know jobe’s never been finished in my division and I finished him tonight you know I wasn’t even things went so well in Camp went so while I wasn’t even planning on finishing jacobe like like with hands or anything like that like so it’s it’s relief it’s gratitude it’s it’s everything man it’s think about for everybody who’s going through some things and it feels like it’s never going to end keep keep grinding man keep working and it’ll end and you’ll you’ll be on top again when you landed that left hook did did you know that that was the shot did you work on that this Camp obviously you were talking about not even necessarily knocking him out but uh did you know that that was the shot I mean with me the left is always dangerous it could always be the shot um but all Camp was just working on just movement fluidity being comfortable in there you know I was a two-year layoff so I still had to you know get comfortable again in there and do my thing but the training camp went so well that when I went in there everything was slower than I anticipated I saw everything much so clearly um and when when he did rush me I was right before then I was like it’s about to pop off like the tension just kept building and building we were throwing kicks at each other throwing Jabs kind of moving around slipping each other’s Mo punches and I’m like it’s about to pop off like either he’s coming hot or I’m gonna go um and that’s what happened and just like many you know great men who I fought in the past that too is is a serious problem congratulations man thank you so much hey Dom they talk about Feelgood moments in MMA right and I feel like tonight was obviously one of those moments throughout the MMA Community I just wanted to get you to speak on the love and support that that the MMA Community is kind of giv you throughout the comeback H yeah um so it’s been it’s been tough coming back um I’ve had a tremendous amount of support you know on my socials and just random things when I randomly check messages because I really try to stay away from it because it could go either way and this and that but it’s been mostly positive and I’m I’m grateful for that you know um I haven’t seen the social sense the fight you know but the crowd here was giving me so much love and so it felt so good man it felt good to be back in the in the win column but every felt like everybody wanted me to win it wasn’t like oh you win and people are like oh yeah he won on cool that was a good knockout it was like come on Dom you know it was like me and all my homies want Dom to win kind of thing you know and uh it felt felt good man a a lot of support a lot of love the best part about it is it put me on a platform where I could you know show show the world that God’s light is powerful I think as the kids say all the homies love Dom Rees right there we go all the homies don’t love Dom Rays what’s the message on the shirt oh so this this is uh from the Muhammad Ali museum uh his message of be great and do great things you know it’s not just about being a great fighter it’s about impacting your community impacting the world fighting for things that you believe in Fighting For injustices Fighting For The Right Stuff be great and uh being in there in the Octagon tonight I found out at the museum that uh his memorial was held in the KFC Center so his body was in the KFC center for the memorial and that really resonated with me I felt like as a fighter um to like his final you know time in an arena on this Earth was the last place I just fought you know it really meant a lot to me um and I feel like I really embody his style with float like a butterfly stinging like a bee you know my thing has always been I’m more athletic than everyone in the division meaning I move better than everyone in the division and I sting like a be for sure so I guess this was this shirt was in honor of Muhammad and then my performance I feel like I hope I honored him and then going back to a little bit earlier when you talked about taking that shot like how satisfying was it to to you know take that shot and prove to everybody look man I’m I’m still here and I can still take a good a good shot oh absolutely he hit me clean on clean on my my upper can9 and I was like hell yeah it’s on now dude let’s go and uh and then he I think I smiled at him and it made him mad so he rushed me and that was the worst thing worst decision he made tonight and as far as the rest of the division goes are you just going to kind of look to what’s presented to you or are you going to pay attention if guys are calling you out I mean I’m a fan of the sport as well and I’m always paying attention I’m always watching you know I might be in the dark I might be in the middle of the desert where I live I might be on the top of a mountain on my dirt bike but I’m paying attention um and it’s more about the timing versus the opponent um obviously I want to move up we’re working towards the title again but uh we’ll see we’ll see I don’t really have anybody in mind if people want to call me out you know cool it gives me more options you know do my job for me do my manager’s job for me you know um but yeah I have a great manager I have a great team and we’ll figure out what’s next and when you talk about the title uh we heard Dustin po say you know what it it’s very hard you only get a certain amount of times to climb that ladder was there ever a point in your career where you were like man I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to climb that ladder again uh I guess that could be said with the lightweight division because it’s it’s a little different with my division it’s couple good performances show show the world who you are do your thing and you’re right back in the conversation you know so it was never like oh I’ll never get back to the title because I know who I am and I know what I’m capable of I was just not even believing in myself and doubting everything I was doing so how can I even win a fight you know can’t even win a fight how am I going to go for a title so that was really that wasn’t even on my mind it was you got to win you got to get back to what made you you but now you’re older now you’re wiser now you you see things differently different perspective on the entire game so yeah I never was like oh I’ll never get back it was just like I got to focus on now and then everything else will work itself out cheers brother congratulations thank you that’s it all right thank you guys e e e e e e e e e e e one two one two uh congrats on the victory thank you was was it a early stoppage to [Music] you absolutely not uh it’s it’s the job of the referee to decide if uh the the fighter is able to keep going or not uh it took already a lot of damage it would have take even more if the fight have continued so I think it was the right decision to stop him in the beginning of the fight it seems like Jared was dominating what adjustments did you make to turn the tide in your favor [Music] [Music] it was in the game plan to not start too fast because uh I do a lot of five runs now so it’s not the same Pace not the same Rhythm um and in my opinion I only lost the the first round the other round I I started to dominate uh at the beginning of the second round was this the Finish you was looking for or you wanted to take it more later into into the uh fight you know maybe like fourth or fifth round or did you want to come out and get him out early [Music] no it’s perfect it’s exactly what I was looking for I was looking for a finish uh I would be lying if I would say that uh early stoppage would have not be better uh but uh the thing is uh you know it takes some time to finish someone and uh what I’m happy with is a lot of people critiqued uh my cardio and uh in this fight I prove that uh my cardio is very good finishing him in the first round was it frustrating having to deal with the refs stopping you constantly about fingers and grabbing a cage and all those things the the ey poke [Music] yes it was very disturbing um most of the time my my finger was up to the air um but uh at the end at the end I started to close my finger in order to make sure that I wouldn’t poke uh his eyes with this Victory your next opponent should be in the top five so who would you like to [Music] face Shan Strickland is in front of me uh we already fought at 93 kg I would like to take my revenge at 40 at 84 kilg where would you like that fight to take place UFC September UFC Paris thank you n uh this was your first finish in nearly two and a half years can you talk about um your difference in your game plan or or changing uh a part of your um strategy to go from uh to go so long without it and and to make sure it happened today [Music] uh one of the change we we made sure uh to make during the fight was you know sit down a little bit on the boxing and uh we can hear my coach telling me to do that at the beginning of the third round so at the beginning of the third round you can tell the the the punch are more powerful because I sit a little bit more into my punches uh the judges scorecards came out you were down to one uh after three rounds on two out of those three um were you did you think that that was uh fair for this fight and uh did did the start of the fourth round did your corner say anything to you to really uh get you [Music] going for [Music] [Music] my corner told me to sit and to land a little bit more strike uh and more powerful strike so that was the the plan to to keep going with that from the third to the fifth round uh obviously uh in a couple weeks there’s a big fight at uh in your division at 185 pounds between Robert Whitaker and hamzat jayv um now after this win for you you are right in title conten do you think that that fight that winner uh is more deserving than you to get the next title shot after [Music] um more or less legit is not my role to decide it’s going to be the UFC role uh what I know is I’m 28 I just did a dominating performance against uh the top one of the top uh in the division and uh I I’m not even at my best I can even progress more so I’m already good enough to get the title to get the belt but the far away it’s going to be the better I’m going to be congratulations thank you no so I just wanted your thoughts on how the new gloves felt tonight in the main [Music] event I love it uh they hurt bad can you expand on that a little bit okay they are very hard the texture is very hard and you don’t have to eat that much powerful to to to to make a to connect okay he said um they are very comfortable and they fit the end very well okay and uh one of Sean Strickland’s teammates was here uh this weekend a guy you have a little bit of history with Chris Curtis did you guys come across did you run into each other at all [Music] ctis no no I I I saw him from far away and he just congr rats me and said it was a very good fight how do you think Sean Strickland would be received in [Music] Paris the best way we can receive uh you just have to come and we we’re going to be pleased to receive him congratulations have a question