Oban Elliott feels ‘honoured’ to be appearing on the UFC 304 card.
After sealing his UFC contract on the 2023 season of the Contender Series, Elliott made his promotional debut at UFC 298 and beat Val Woodburn by way of unanimous decision to collect his first win inside the octagon.
Ahead of his UFC 304 bout, Elliott joined Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour. Discussing what feels different heading into his second UFC contest, Elliott admitted that the first time round, he almost felt a touch of imposters syndrome. However, heading into this contest, the Welshman is more than comfortable and feels like the extra pressure he put on himself previously, is no longer there.
“I’ve just given myself a little kick up the ass a bit and been like, ‘What are you talking about? You are the man. You belong here. This is a lifetime work that's come to fruition. Now I get to go and show it again, but better, way better and I get to go and do it in on these shores.”
His upcoming bout will see ‘The Welsh Gangster’ get the chance to compete in front of a home crowd since signing with the UFC. The 26-year-old is relishing the opportunity to be back in front of a UK audience.
“It was an honour (to be matched on UFC 304), it was very cool because, I won't go into detail now, but after the last fight I had a couple of bumps and bruises and I didn't actually get cleared to fight until you know, later on.
“I was going back and forth, the UFC look after you when it comes to your health, 100%. Obviously it was all good, I had the clearance and it was like three days later they put me on the card. I was thinking, ‘Oh, I may be not going to be able to get on this card, because I wasn't eligible for be matched but literally I think it was the Friday I said, ‘Yeah, I'm all good.’
“Just needed it off the doctor, by the Wednesday I had a fight come through. I was like, ‘Wow, that is an honour.’ I know you see online, people are trying to get a fight, but it seems like they wanted me on this card, so yeah, I'm honoured, 100%.”
The man looking to cause an upset in Elliot’s return to the UK, will be American, Preston Parsons. Giving his honest opinion, the Shore Mixed Martial Arts athlete sees Parsons as a fun fight but is wanting to show that there are levels to the game.
“He is a good fighter, he's on his second contract, he’s had four fights in the UFC and I'm his fifth. So you know it's no mug is it. He’s a good fighter, but he's not as good as me. That's all I've really got to say about him. Yeah, he'll find out, he'll find out.”
You can see the full interview below:
