Jacksonville, FL — While it was a rough night for a number of visiting fighters at UFC 261, Mongolian Danaa Batgerel had a tremendous technical knockout of Kevin Natividad.
Specifically, the bantamweight known as “Storm” put Natividad down with a left hook. His finish of the Hawaiian was, in fact, the second straight finish he has utilized the punch in. In the past, Batgerel (9-2) had practiced to land the blow. “This time, I was patient, and I was looking at him, and had the right moment,” he said during Saturday’s post-fight press conference, speaking via translator to media outlets including Cageside press.
Moving forward, Batgerel wants to fight “as soon as possible again,” he said. As to what opponents he’s targeting, “Jose Aldo or Sean O’Malley,” said the 31-year old. Them, or any top fighter in the division.
When it comes to Batgerel targeting Aldo, the UFC’s former featherweight champ, there’s one main reason. “Jose Aldo is one of my favorite fighters. He was champion before.” Batgerel used to watch Aldo’s fights, he stated — and was inspired by the Brazilian.
Batgerel is one of those rare fighters who didn’t compete during the coronavirus pandemic. As such, he hasn’t experienced fighting without the crowd. While he was supposed to compete against Kyler “Matrix” Phillips last year, pandemic travel restrictions saw that fight fall through. Not that Danaa Batgerel seems to mind. “It’s much better with the crowd,” he said Saturday.
Watch the full UFC 261 post-fight press scrum with Danaa Batgerel above.
