UGP 23 POST FIGHT PRESSER

ABU DHABI — UGP 23 is in the books. The history books in fact. It was an incredible night that moved Union Grand Prix into a new era. Once it was all said and done, I was able to track down Union GP President Dante Reed for an exclusive interview. Here’s the transcript of the encounter:

ISAAC COHEN

It’s great to have with me once again the Union Grand Prix President, Dante Reed. Dante, historic card, let’s jump right into it and talk about the aftermath of what went down in the Middleweight Championship Super Fight Main Event. What’s next for the Middleweight Division now that Delaney Donovan is the reigning champ? It seems like we have a log jam at the top already with Travis Decker, Zion Momo’a, Asher Jrue, and not to forget Robert Guilliman who’s competing in the Openweight Grand Prix. Who or what’s next for the title picture?

DANTE REED

Well there’s a lot of variables at 185 right now. After the fight, Delaney talked about taking some time off, which is well deserved. We had some ideas in mind on where to go, regardless of the outcome of the fight. The top three have been neck and neck in terms of their performance, so we’ll probably work at least one of them into something. I don’t want to give away any specifics just yet, but we’ll keep things moving forward for sure.

ISAAC COHEN

Fair enough, let’s talk about the kickoff for the Openweight Tournament. What’s your first impressions of the Union GP debut of former Triumph Champion Eamon Wojcik? This was his second win over Vu in such a setting and next he’ll face Daniel Fisk in the semifinals.

DANTE REED

Yeah we were excited to get him in for this. I have mad respect for the guy. He won the inaugural title, going 3-0 in one night. He’s humble and goes about things the right way, and I’m so pumped for this next round.

ISAAC COHEN

Speaking of the next round, big return for Daniel Fisk, but I have to ask you what was going through your head during that brief exchange after his fight? The cameras were able to pick up the audio and he didn’t exactly have the greatest things to say to you.

DANTE REED

Yeah I don’t know where that came from. To be honest, I just roll with it. A lot of fighters nowadays always feel like they’re disrespected. A number one seed fought a number eight seed, where’s the disrespect? I think Fisk is just morphing into that grumpy old man yelling at the kids to stay off his lawn. Haaah. But to be honest, a few years ago, I think Fisk would have welcomed and maybe even embraced a brash young fighter like Blue Barrera; someone who has no fear and will take on any challenge. Now, whether that’s bravery or ignorance is a different discussion, but the fact that she was so willing to go up against a guy as accomplished as Fisk without batting an eye says a lot about her and I give her all the credit in the world. She gets a lot of hate from her mouth, but you know what? People talk about her. Win or lose, she's making headlines and keeping herself relevant in between fights. Ultimately, in my eyes, the only people who have the right to criticize her are the seven other fighters that signed up for this Grand Prix. But back to your point, if Fisk feels so disrespected here, then he can stay at G2 and worry about dodging beer bottles and run-ins with trailer park meth addicts during his fights. Of course I want him to compete here, but I’m not going to beg him. As you can see, we’ve done just fine in 2020 without him.

ISAAC COHEN

Interesting take. Well let’s move on to the Co-Main Event Cruiserweight Title fight. It was an incredible clash from Robinson and Santos. It looked like it could have gone to either fighter up until the end with those devastating blows. What’s next for Roscoe, Santos, and the Cruiserweight Division as a whole?

DANTE REED

No question it was a nail biter and not one person in the audience was sitting down. These guys came out guns blazing and gave the fans an incredibly high paced fight. It seemed like so many people were quick to write off Santos, probably due to his age and the fact his only losses came from Ardan Kelly, a guy that just lost in Shooter's last fight. But I had a feeling this one would be different. This one went under five minutes, but these guys beat the shit outta each other. For Roscoe, there’s a lot of interesting up-and-comers like Jose Meléndez, Reggie James, and Yusnuel Gamboa working their way up the division, so he’s still got options coming his way. For Santos, you know he’s forty years old, time is not on his side. The guy is big enough to compete at heavyweight, I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing him take a fight or two up there and see how he does, or he could work his way back up the rankings at 225. He’s a high level fighter, but his chances at glory are closing in.

ISAAC COHEN

What about the highly speculated Super Fight between Shooter and Pluggz?

DANTE REED

Hah. Listen, Rozier has to focus on Volkov first. If he can make it past that fight, then maybe. But honestly, you'll have to talk with them. As of now, we've made no discussions on making that fight.

ISAAC COHEN

Fair enough. We talked about Santos' age possibly being a factor, and they say Father Time stays undefeated in the end. But one guy that doesn’t seem to know how to slow down at his age is Robert Guilliman, despite losing tonight. We’re all sure he’ll be back in the hunt once the Openweight Tournament has concluded, but he’s a great example of age being just a number. That being said, how monumental is it for Delaney to get the win over Guilliman and become the first ever two division champ?

DANTE REED

It’s huge. It’s big for him and it’s big for this sport. You know we’ve had a few fighters start to shift around weight classes just recently but haven’t yielded too many positive results, at least not yet. Look at Aries Reed moving up to 225, Byron McCall dropping to 155—they struggled and have had mixed results. But Delaney put in a fantastic camp that allowed him to bulk up the right way. I think this will keep fighters interested in fighting in several weight classes.

ISAAC COHEN

So what’s next for Delaney? We touched on the Middleweight Division, but what about the Lightweight Division? Is this going to jam up both of them at the top? Where's Delaney going to fight at next?

DANTE REED

There’s a reason we put this fight on, and that’s because we felt that both 185 and 155 don't have that clear cut number one contender waiting in the wings, in my mind at least. At 155, Natalie King still sits on top and she continues to amaze, but Delaney has already beaten her twice and also so many of the top tier fighters in that class. The other top tier fighters are still a fight or two away from being in true title contention. Same goes for Guilliman at 185. He’s beaten pretty much everyone in that division. Some guys even multiple times in convincing fashion. We made this fight to give a no-brainer contender for both of these guys while the rest of their divisions work and build their way up. As I said, Delaney talked about taking some time off, and it’s deserved, while Guilliman is in the Openweight Championship Grand Prix. We’ll sit down with Delaney soon and discuss what the next fight is for him and go from there.

ISAAC COHEN

Alright Dante, I have so many more questions to ask, but I'll save them for another time. I know you're a busy man, enjoy the rest of your night and thank you for taking the time to speak with me.

DANTE REED

It's all good, Izzy. Keep doing what you're doing man.