Bryan Battle has made a natural progression through his current UFC tenure, and that sees him co-main eventing against Ange Loosa, this weekend at UFC Vegas 88.
‘Pooh Bear’s’ last fight came against AJ Fletcher back in September last year, and the 29-year-old picked up an impressive second-round submission on the main card of UFC Vegas 79.
Throughout his UFC tenure and including his Ultimate Fighter outings, Battle has competed in the UFC Apex seven times. The only fighter with more fights there is Sean Strickland. Battle’s fight with Loosa will equal the record of eight, for the most fights in front of a restricted crowd.
Loosa on the other hand last fought in Paris, France, against Rhys McKee, where he picked up an extremely dominant decision win.
Bryan Battle wants out of the UFC Apex
The only time Battle has fought in front of a live crowd so far during his UFC career was against Gabe Green, and it came in his home of North Carolina.
The 29-year-old won that fight after just 14 seconds and in the process, earned himself an extra $50,000 with the performance bonus.
Talking at UFC Vegas 88 media day, Battle admitted the reason he wants out of the Apex, is because he wants to be ‘in a place where people can see me’ and because people keep telling him they want to go and watch him fight live.
“I am ready to fight in front of big crowds again, not only am I ready but the people are ready. When it got announced that I was fighting in the Apex, you go look at the comments people are like ‘why is he still fighting in the Apex, I want to watch the butcher.’ people are disappointed, and people want to fly out.” Battle said.
Despite his desire to return to fighting in front of ‘big crowds’, ‘Pooh Bear’ knows he must earn that right, and that’s what he’s looking to do against Loosa.
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“I got to be in a place where the people can see me so that’s another thing about this fight, I have to make a statement and show them (UFC) that I’m that kind of person that can put buts in seats, that can get views. You gotta put me in a prime-time position because I’m a prime-time player.” Battle added.