LAS VEGAS – Mateusz Gamrot not only wants to beat Benoit Saint Denis, but he also wants him to change his fighter nickname.
Following a dominant win over Ludovit Klein at Saturday's UFC on ESPN 68, Gamrot (25-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) called out the Frenchman, and he did so by taking a shot at his "God of War" nickname. Gamrot, who had been searching for a fight for months prior to the Klein booking, claims he was offered to be Saint Denis' replacement opponent for UFC 315 earlier in May, but Saint Denis turned him down and ended up fighting and submitting Kyle Prepolec.
The move didn't sit well with Gamrot, and now he wants to fight him in the UFC's expected show in Paris in September.
"I can change Benoit Saint Denis' nickname," Gamrot told reporters at the UFC on ESPN 68 post-fight press conference. "He has the nickname 'God of War,' but I can change his nickname to 'God of Comfort Zone' because bro, he got offered to fight with me one week before, and many times he called me out. So he gets opportunity and he says no. Bro, what the f*ck? 'God of Comfort Zone.'"
Gamrot fought an unranked opponent in Klein this past Saturday, something that's relatively unusual for someone who's just outside the top five of the UFC official lightweight rankings. The Polish fighter admits being frustrated at the difficulty he's faced lately in getting the bigger names in the division.
"When I came to Florida, I always asked to give me the fight, but this moment everybody was booked in the ranking, so I had two options: Wait a few months later and get someone from ranking or take someone without ranking and be active," Gamrot said. "So the choice for me was clear: I want to fight. Of course, this was a big risk, but like I said before, If you be live in yourself and your skills, you can fight with everybody. I did this, I took this fight. It was a big risk, but I won tonight, so I'm so happy: double check."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC on ESPN 68's Mateusz Gamrot calls out Benoit Saint Denis
English (US) ·