Canadian featherweight Kyle Nelson is riding high after competing in his home country and getting the win at UFC 289 this past Saturday in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
While speaking to Vibe 105.5FM Toronto's Michael Asiffo, Nelson reflected on his impressive unanimous decision win over Blake Bilder, and what his experience was like competing in Canada. He mentioned that it was a memorable night for him and Canadian MMA because of how long it had been since the promotion hosted an event in the country.
He said:
"Yeah, It felt amazing. You know, obviously Canadian MMA fans have been wanting the UFC to come back. I mean, the whole 4 years and for them to finally be able to come back and put on a show in Vancouver. It was a packed house, a ton of Canadians on the card - we had 6 Canadians fighting - and to yeah, to walk out there and get the victory, it was kinda the icing on top."
'The Monster' also brought up that he didn't have the best of luck in his recent bouts. He mentioned that the results didn't go his way and believed that he had the best performance of his career at UFC 289, saying:
"My last couple fights, my last fight was a draw, before that was a close decision. You know, all these fights I kinda thought I won, so now to finally go out there and get that victory and I think put on the best performance of my life."
It will be interesting to see who the UFC match Nelson up with for his next bout as they could possibly want to include him should they return to Canada for a Fight Night later this year.
Check out the full interview:
Kyle Nelson hands Blake Bilder his first career loss
Kyle Nelson not only snapped his losing skid, but he also handed Blake Bilder his first career loss.
Bilder earned his UFC contract after submitting Alex Morgan with a rear-naked choke in the first round. He was highly touted, and continued his winning streak with a unanimous decision win over Shane Young in his promotional debut.
During the affromentioned appearance, 'The Monster' shared his thoughts on being the first fighter to defeat 'El Animal', saying:
"I knew going in, him being undefeated, you know he wouldn't have obviously faced somebody that was quite at my skill level, so I think I was able to kinda break him mentally and kind of take him to the deep waters that he hadn't seen yet."