London, England — UFC London wasn’t just Nicolas Dalby’s first fight in Europe since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, it was his first fight in front of a crowd in years.
That’s something Denmark’s Dalby (20-4-1, 2NC) called “bloody amazing” following a decision win over Brazilian Claudio Silva.
“I definitely noticed the crowd,” he said following the bout, speaking to media outlets backstage at the O2 Arena. “I’ve always fought with a crowd, until COVID. When COVID happened, I really didn’t notice anything missing, but now that it’s with a crowd again, it definitely gives an extra five, ten percent in the cage, even though I’m super focused.”
How much of an impact did that crowd have? Dalby explained that while they were a factor, he would have got the job done either way.
“The crowd effect was definitely a factor, but for me, personally, I love the crowd, but [when] I’m fighting in the cage, I have blinders on,” he told Cageside Press. “Don’t get me wrong, the crowd does make a difference, but in order for me to do my job, I shouldn’t have to rely on the crowd. For me personally, I would have done it anyway, but it’s an added bonus, it’s the cherry on top. It doesn’t change the whole recipe as a whole, but it’s the cherry on top that makes it even more sweet when you do some exciting stuff.”
Silva was not an easy opponent to put away, and even attempted to mount a late comeback.
“Yeah absolutely, and that’s why suddenly an omoplata came out of nowhere, and I just latched onto that,” Dalby said regarding the final minutes of the fight. “But we knew coming into the fight that he’s a guy you can never count out. He submitted Danny Roberts with a minute left of the third round after getting dominated, so you can never count Claudio Silva out of a fight.”
Watch the full UFC London post-fight press scrum with Nicolas Dalby above.
