UFC welterweight Ryan LaFlare was in good spirits following his win over Alex Garcia on Saturday.
Atlantic City, NJ — It wasn’t the finish he was looking for. But so what? Ryan LaFlare came back off a knockout loss and got the win at UFC Atlantic City on Saturday. At the historic Boardwalk Hall, LaFlare battled Alex Garcia for three rounds. It was a win well-earned. A spirited, battle, in which LaFlare sustained a knee injury thanks to Garcia clamping down on his knee.
LaFlare ultimately earned a unanimous decision, with 30-27 scores on all three judges scorecards. And while there has always been talk about the fighter struggling to finish in the UFC (he had a perfect finishing record outside the promotion, but has yet to avoid the judges in any of his wins in it), he was in good spirits post-fight.
“I finally have a nickname, ‘The Decisionator Ryan LaFlare'” the welterweight quipped. “Lets patent that thing.”
“If I had ten more seconds, I think I was finishing that,” he added later. “He was a tough opponent, and I’m happy to get the win, get back on the winning column. You’re only as good as your last fight, regardless of my last fight, I wanted to get in there and win.”
On the knee he apparently injured during the bout, LaFlare said that “There’s definitely something wrong with it, but what am I going to do?” Pointing out that it’s part of what fighters sign up for, he suggested that “I’m ready to die in there. I’ll worry about it later.”
LaFlare had talked prior to the bout about distractions in his last fight in Uniondale, and while Atlantic City wasn’t exactly at home, it’s right next door. So would he prefer his next bout be on the road? “I don’t care. As long as it’s not in Nassau Coliseum” he said of the possibility.
That was a reference to his prior fight, a loss to Alex Oliveira in Long Island.
“It didn’t feel like I was in the fight mode,” he said of the difference when it came to fighting at home. There, his students and family were distractions. “It felt like I was going to work, I had my bagged lunch with me. I just felt like, I was like ‘oh crap, I still got to fight in front of millions of people.’ I don’t like that.” His preference is to get the fight week experience. “I like coming here on Tuesday, fortunately my coaches are also my best friends, so you get here, you bond, you bulls***, it’s all about you, and the fight. It’s something that makes a big difference.”
