Tommy McMillen is the latest member of the UFC’s featherweight roster, and now joins teammate Sean O’Malley on the massive present.
McMillen earned a contract after successful a majority determination in an absolute conflict with David Mgoyan at DWCS Season 9, Week 4 earlier this month. After practically getting completed by Mgoyan — who landed a nasty spinning again elbow, then practically cemented it with a mounted guillotine —McMillen battled again and obtained the job executed and a contract as well.
After surviving the primary spherical, McMillen, together with O’Malley — who was within the nook — and head coach Tim Welch, realized the momentum had modified huge time.
“I positively did,” McMillen instructed MMA Combating. “Tim was within the nook actually motivating me. Tim and [Sean], they’ve been vouching for me for years. They know the form of canine I’m, bro, like I grew up round this shit. I’ve been doing this since I used to be three years outdated. You’re actually gonna need to kill me if you need me to exit. I believed my neck was going to interrupt at one level, and I used to be cool with it. I used to be giving the ref a thumbs up, as a result of I believed he was getting near stopping it, trigger I felt my neck crack a bunch, and, yeah, I believed my neck was gonna break, dude, and I didn’t care.
“However as soon as I did get again up, and even simply ending the primary spherical, despite the fact that it was solely the final 10 seconds, I ended the final 10 seconds, stuffing one among his previous couple of pictures and ended up within the entrance headlock. I’m like, ‘Yo, this child simply hit me along with his finest shot, spinning again elbow, caught me off guard out of nowhere, then places me within the nastiest choke ever, he simply gave me his finest, he can’t kill me, bro. Like, he can’t. He doesn’t have what it takes. I’m a much bigger canine than this child, and I knew, actually sitting on the stool after the primary. I’m very analytic. I’m very [analytical] at combating. I feel in there. I’m very actively considering. I feel my combat IQ is likely one of the finest issues about me, and I knew I used to be down a spherical, huge time, however I used to be considering in my head, I used to be like, I finished his wrestling. The one time he took me down as soon as was after I was rocked from that shot. Aside from that, I’m stopping his wrestling, I’m getting a dominant spot. I really feel like I simply have to maintain going and outdo this child.
“I’m going to interrupt him. I might simply see him even after that first trade… I might see in his eyes that he simply checked out me totally different when he was like, I can’t put this child out. I don’t assume he thought I might undergo that in any respect. … I noticed him begin to fade, you understand, even within the second spherical, he did. The factor about me, and I used to be saying it earlier than the combat, I combat that child 10 occasions. I do know I can end that child. I’m a extremely good fighter.I obtained clipped and needed to work by some adversity, so I used to be form of beginning off from behind, however I feel the largest distinction between me and this child is he didn’t actually imply it when he stated he’s right down to go to conflict. I need the dominant end, however on the finish of the day, bro, I’m a fighter and I prefer to go to conflict like that.”
McMillen was transported to the hospital after the combat, so he couldn’t stick across the UFC APEX to see if Dana White was going to supply him a contract.
After bettering to 9-0 as a professional, and displaying not solely his combating abilities, however his capability to battle by adversity like he did within the opening stanza, McMillen was fairly assured White would reward him.
“Yeah, I used to be absolutely assured, McMillen stated. “I had Dana out of his seat, leaping up and down, tremendous excited, and I feel one factor Dana likes about me that he can see is, for one, I’m a really marketable child exterior of the cage. I’ve superb socials. I’m very engaged with my followers. I obtained a variety of help. My numbers on the Contender Sequence, for those who take a look at the weigh-ins, mine’s five-times the views in comparison with what all people else’s on the weigh-ins.
“I used to be opening [the] card, So I knew I used to be getting a contract after that, particularly… I feel Dana likes to see a child, in a manner it form of labored out for my favor [battling back like that].
“Who is aware of how the combat goes if I don’t get in that guillotine, [if] I don’t get rocked. I feel the perfect factor you possibly can present combating at this stage is one thing which you could’t train, and that’s what I obtained. Lots of people, for one, couldn’t have gotten out of that guillotine. After which, [two], to come back again from that spherical after which win and put it on, push the pedal like I did within the third after going by that first spherical, that’s one thing you simply actually can’t train and Dana is likely one of the essentially the most educated males on this sport relating to seeing fighters and who’s obtained what and who doesn’t. As a result of he’s been round it so lengthy and so I used to be assured that he noticed that it think about me, and that he is aware of, I could be a huge star on this recreation at some point if I simply maintain doing what I’m doing.”
The 27-year-old is aware of he has quite a bit to work on after his victory, and realized he provided up some tells within the first spherical that Mgoyan took benefit of. It was a useful studying expertise for “Gun” as he not solely made it to the judges’ scorecards for the primary time in in his profession, he made it out of the primary spherical.
So far as when he desires to make his octagon debut, he hopes it occurs the subsequent time his teammate, and former UFC bantamweight champion makes his stroll to the octagon once more.
“I wish to pop on the identical card as my boy O’Malley,” McMillen stated. “We’ve been doing this collectively for a very long time. I feel two Montana natives, those that have been born and raised in Montana on the identical card is totally legendary. And judging by my final combat, you guys know the way I can set the temper for the night time.
“So simply go forward and let me open up the cardboard for my boy Suge, and I’ll be pleased with that.”
0 Feedback
