No man is flying greater than Oban Elliott is true now.
This previous Saturday, Elliott made his UFC debut, taking a unanimous choice win over Val Woodburn at UFC 298. It was the achievement of a childhood dream and a promise made to his late father, and as such, Elliott is on cloud 9 in the mean time.
“I’m residing the dream. I actually am residing the dream,” Elliott mentioned on The MMA Hour.
“I may be the happiest man on the planet proper now. Actually. If I might have completed him within the first spherical, wonderful — might need gotten 50 grand as nicely — however I feel that is going to pay much more than $50,000 in dividends going ahead. Three rounds below the lights like that, in an enormous enviornment like that, and I turned extra snug because the combat went on. I’m not simply coming to the UFC for a bit little bit of hype, I’m going to the highest, in my head. In order that’s three rounds of strong expertise banked. It couldn’t have gone any higher. Getting dropped and overcoming that — I knew I had that in me anyway, however on the large stage, would I’ve froze? No. I stood sturdy. I couldn’t be extra pleased with myself.”
Scoring his first UFC win was solely the start of Elliott’s evening. After doing the required post-fight media and medicals, Elliott was in for a shock as had the possibility to fulfill CM Punk, who was in attendance. A lifelong wrestling fan, Elliott jumped on the alternative.
“Get the medical completed, go and do the media,” Elliott mentioned. “Go and get the media completed, then I’m doing my footage, and as I’m doing my footage, Megan Olivi runs up … ‘Oban, do you need to meet CM Punk?’ F****** proper I need to meet CM Punk! … We return right down to the factor, I meet CM Punk. … We have been simply speaking, bouncing concepts off one another. I’d like to inform you precisely what we have been speaking about nevertheless it was so surreal. We have been simply speaking about how I watched him earlier than. I used to be fanboying!
“I requested him in regards to the nerves. ‘As wrestlers, do you get nervous? As a result of I’ve at all times needed to ask one in every of you guys this, and also you being the very best on the planet.’ And he mentioned, ‘The day I didn’t really feel the nerves is the day I give up 10 years in the past.’ So I can take that with me the remainder of my profession now. Regardless of how a lot I’m s****** myself in that altering room, the very best on the planet in his craft will get butterflies. They usually day they weren’t there for him, he walked away.”
And Elliott’s evening nonetheless was not over, as a result of after CM Punk, Elliott bought to lastly meet his childhood hero, Chael Sonnen.
“I rapidly dress, boom-boom-boom, get down, again within the automobile, straight to the factor,” Elliott mentioned. “There’s a group ready for me, they shuttle me off, put me by the elevate, I am going up by the backstage, strolling alongside the stage, I’m considering ‘The place is he?’ ESPN set, there he’s! We come, embrace, and he thanks me for giving him a shoutout within the cage. ‘After all!’ He thanks me for that. He truly talked a way immediately, ‘You realize while you had him within the mounted triangle, you seize his head immediately.’
“Simply an unbelievable second. After which he tells me, ‘That is just the start and we’re going to maintain this going. Gangsters Inc.’ Hugged him, shook his hand about 50 instances, hugged him about 50 instances, advised him I liked him about 10 instances, and each time he mentioned, ‘I like you too!’ One of the best.”
Elliott has been open about Sonnen’s affect on his profession, saying that Sonnen was his largest idol rising up and a part of the explanation he turned a fan of and pursued MMA. So provided that he lastly bought to fulfill Sonnen, and CM Punk, and have the complete UFC expertise, Elliott remains to be buzzing a couple of days after UFC 298.
“We’re simply speaking and he mentioned, ‘It’s not a shock. I’ve been following you for therefore lengthy.’ He at all times stored his distance, was following from afar and would ship me the odd message, however didn’t make a friendship of it,” Elliott mentioned. “That is simply the maddest factor to soak up. And I’m nonetheless occupied with assembly CM Punk whereas I’m speaking to him. And earlier within the week, [Michael] Bisping! Come on! Bisping!
“On the fighter assembly with Bisping and he appears to be like me within the eye and tells me, ‘Your dad can be so pleased with you.’ I burst into tears. Coming from him. I’m considering to myself, what did I do to deserve this? How has this labored out so nicely?”
Now 10-2 in his skilled profession and a former Cage Warriors beginner champion, the 26-year-old Elliott is absolutely on his approach in UFC, and for his subsequent act, “The Welsh Gangster” hopes to maneuver to 2-0 within the promotion with a win a bit nearer to residence.
“They’re saying they’ve bought a Manchester card in July,” Elliott mentioned. “That will be actually good. A house present can be good, timing sensible. I’ve bought to let me physique heal. I had a couple of bumps and bruises going into this combat. I’ve bought be certain the whole lot is OK earlier than going into one other coaching camp. However positively in the summertime. Not too quickly, the place I’m speeding. Hopefully the Manchester card in July, if that’s true.”
And as for an opponent? Properly, Elliott had too massive of a weekend to be too involved about that.
“Actually, and this can be a essential a part of an interview, you’ve bought to arrange the following combat,” Elliott mentioned when requested about an opponent. “However I can’t consider a single individual that’s even price occupied with on the minute, after week I’ve had. … I’m afraid I don’t have any title in thoughts. For now, let’s simply take pleasure in this one.”
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