Eddy George feels like he will be on Dana White’s Contender Series with a finish this Friday.
George (4-0) returns to action for the first time in 2022 as he takes on Emiliano Calderon at CES 67. He was originally scheduled to face veteran fighter Christian Leonard; however, an injury forced him to withdraw from the fight.
George was disappointed because he hoped for a war and had a veteran name on his record.
“I wish him nothing but the best. I hope he has a speedy recovery. I don’t want to speak too much on it, because that’s his business. I’m thankful that he wanted to take the fight with me. He’s a veteran, and I was really gonna, you know, try my warrior spirit with him. And that would have been a fun fight and a great fight for the fans,” George told Cageside Press recently.
With Leonard out of the fight, Argentinan fighter Calderon (1-1) stepped up on short notice. Calderon is coming off a first-round TKO and will be making his CES debut.
George recognizes that his opponent is completely game and is coming to make a statement.
“Emiliano stepped up and agreed to fight me, and he might be 1-1, but he’s coming off of a TKO, and he’s looking to derail my train. He’s not coming up here to lay down, I promise you that. I can tell, and that’s got me motivated. He’s confident enough to be like I could beat this guy on a short notice call, so I’m going to push his sh*t in, though,” George said.
While the 30-year old is willing to fight for 15 minutes to show everyone he is not just a knockout artist, knockouts are what get prospects on Dana White’s Contender Series. With a win, that is where he wants to be next.
“I never try to call a first-round stoppage, just because I don’t like to ever feel like I’m gonna have to hunt for the finish. I don’t want to. I feel like when you try too hard to get the finish, that’s when you get caught slipping. I feel like I’m more than capable of ending this fight in the first round. Is that the goal? The goal is always to get the finish whenever presented. I also have been wanting to show my warrior spirit for a while now… I think it’s a good time for me to be able to show that I can do more than just finish people in the first round,” George said.
“I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch, but we’re definitely going for a Contender Series call this year. That’s the goal. That was the goal last year, but COVID messed everything up and slowed stuff down. That is the goal for this year… But before I do any of that, first and foremost, I got to beat this man on April 1st and demonstrate all that I say I am.”
Watch the rest of our interview with Eddy George above, where he talks about his MMA origins, his amateur losses, his last fight, and much more. George vs. Calderon goes down this Friday, April 1, streaming exclusively on UFC Fight Pass.
