French heavyweight Alan Baudot got off to a good start in his bout against Rodrigo Nascimento last July.
Looking for his first win inside the octagon after losing his debut, Baudot looked sharp early, until something went terribly wrong — and instead of a triumphant victory, he was finished in the second round.
“I don’t know. Maybe the kick on the balls got me out of the fight mentally,” Baudot suggested, when asked during this week’s UFC Vegas 48 media day about his sophomore outing in the UFC. “I don’t know. I changed some mental training with my mental coach, and I’m ready for the next fight.”
Low blow or not, the outcome was the same — sort of. While Baudot did lose the fight, definitively, a failed drug test by Brazil’s Nascimento turned the result to a No Contest. So as Alan Baudot heads into his UFC Vegas 48 fight with Parker Porter this Saturday, he’s technically 0-1 in the UFC still.
He’s just not thinking of it that way. Instead, Baudot said, he knows he has to win — and put on a good show for the fans. Beyond that, “[Porter]’s a good fighter and a good deal for me. He has a two [fight] win streak, and I have a two loss streak, in my mind. But I’m ready to take my first victory in the UFC.”
Baudot also touched on the recent setback suffered by countryman Ciryl Gane, who came up short against heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou last month.
“I know Ciryl is strong, he’s a very good fighter, and very good guy— like my brother,” Baudot said, adding “and I know he’ll come back more strong for the next fight.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 48 media day scrum with Alan Baudot above. The event takes place this Saturday, February 19, 2022 at the Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
