Issue 163

January 2018

Fresh from a TKO win at UFC 217, the youthful American heavyweight looks to the future.

Did you think you might be disqualified at UFC 217 for an illegal kick on Oleksiy Oliynyk? Luckily for you, the footage was reviewed by the officials...

I am very thankful to the New York commission for taking the time to watch the replay over and over and getting to the right call. I’m happy I got the win, but it wasn’t the way I wanted it to go. I would have been upset if I’d been disqualified, or it was turned into a no contest. I’m just happy to get the ‘W’.

Your only UFC loss was in your short-notice debut against Francis Ngannou. How prepared were you?

That was wild. We were trying to cram so much information in in such a short period of time. I don’t think I retained any of it. Basically, I went in there with a jab and a double leg. That’s all I had. I wasn’t really training every day. It was hard to get to my gym. Even when I did, I didn’t have big guys pushing me. It wasn’t the ideal situation for a UFC debut, but I did the best I could do with what I was given.

Would you like to have a rematch with him now?

I do want that fight back, but I’m not in a rush. I don’t mind honing my skills against other guys in the rankings and then, as long as I’m winning and as long as he’s winning, we will match back up.

What’s it like to train now at Elevation Fight Team in Denver?

I love going to Duane Ludwig’s kickboxing. He’s always upbeat, always really hyper. He makes it enjoyable to go to kickboxing. He really pushes the pace. I enjoy it.

How much has your standup improved with him?

Between him and my boxing coach, Vinny Lopez, they’ve opened my eyes to what I can do in the striking game. I never put any stock into my hands. I didn’t believe in them. After a year-and-a-half here, I think the sky is the limit. I believe one day, my boxing could be on par with a Cain Velasquez or Stipe Miocic.

How much more room for improvement do you have?

I got by for so long, for the majority of my amateur career and most of my professional career, just by being the more athletic guy. I wasn’t really growing or adding any tools. You can’t understate the value of training at elevation. When I go to New York, Texas or Las Vegas, it doesn’t hurt me the way it hurts other guys. I’m used to being up here in the mountains.

Who do you want to fight next?

I think a fight between myself and Alexander Volkov or Derrick Lewis would be pretty interesting. Both of those guys are more standup, but different standup guys. Lewis is more two-punch combos with the power, and Volkov is the opposite. He throws longer combos with less power but with a higher output. I like both of those matchups.

Who inspires you to keep growing and striving for greatness in such a brutal and tough sport?

My dad is hands down the hardest-working guy I have ever met. He always works overtime. He always has two or three extra jobs, yet he still made time to get to all of my and my brother’s games and wrestling matches. He is an inspiration. One thing he really instilled in me is that there are no excuses. If you really want to get something done, you will get it done. Neil Magny is the other guy who inspires me. He is the hardest-working guy at a gym full of hard-working guys. He recently lost his brother, went out to the East Coast for the funeral and he was back in Denver at the gym at practice two days later. It’s that kind of stuff that inspires me.