Matt Speciale may not have a nickname, exactly, but what he does have is an undefeated record, and a platform with BTC.
Niagara Falls, ON — It may not have been the stoppage he envisioned, but it was a stoppage nonetheless for Matt Speciale at BTC 8.
Speaking to Cageside Press following his fight with Michal Mokry, the Canadian lightweight admitted that he was a little bit shocked that the fight was stopped when it was. An initial examination by the doctor during the second round saw the fight continue, but between rounds, the affair was waved off.
“Yeah I was surprised. I thought it was a cut right on the forehead, I didn’t know it was right to the bone,” Speciale told us post-fight. “That’s apparently why they stopped it. It seemed like it was a cut, we could just keep going, but it’s not my call. I’m just there doing my job.”
He did just that, given it was his offense that opened up the cut in question. The second-round TKO makes it four straight wins for Speciale now. All four have come under the BTC banner, a promotion that has helped bring MMA back to southern Ontario.
“I love it. They treat us well, they put on good shows, and they give us up-and-coming fighters what we need,” Speciale said of the promotion he’s spent the entirety of his pro career so far with.
“Ontario fighters, we needed a platform,” he continued. “We couldn’t go anywhere. We would be going to the States, maybe getting mismatches in other organizations, but these guys are giving us good match-ups, a good platform to start, a good foundation for a proper MMA career, and see where it can take us.”
As for a return date, the undefeated prospect isn’t certain just yet.
“I don’t want to make any decisions right away,” Speciale said, acknowledging February’s BTC 9. “I’ve had four fights in twelve months and one week. I’m going to heal up for a couple days, I’m going to see what I want to do. I want to keep building the momentum and keep doing what I’m doing. Because it’s working. I just started this full time, so obviously the proof is in the pudding, I’m doing the right things, and it’s showing in the cage.”
Watch our full post-fight interview from BTC 8 with Matt Speciale above!
