Paris, France – Making your UFC debut at home, on the main card and in the first UFC event to take place in France is a massive deal for young fighters like featherweight William Gomis. Gomis defeated fellow debutant Jarno Errens at UFC Paris on Saturday night.
Gomis (11-2) had expected an easy knockout win, but the fight turned out to be much tougher than he predicted.
“My opponent is a good striker. It’s very hard to better than him in striking. I see I can be a better wrestler and I take him down. When the referee (stood) us up and my uncle tell me ‘It’s time to play’ because I like MMA. I felt good and I got the win,” Gomis told Cageside Press among other media.
Errens almost pulled off the win in the last moments of the fight when he caught Gomis in a tight triangle that the Frenchman fought his way out of to reach the end of the fight.
“In my mind I talked to (myself). I (said) stuff like, ‘I’m ready to die.’ I’m in Paris, my public is here, I’m ready to die. Just I need to wait one minute and win this fight,” he said.
Fighting at home brought the pressure on the young featherweight, but he took it in stride.
“I feel the pressure because I see a lot of media. Lot of people sent me message. Yeah pressure, but I’m someone very cool. For me it’s easy to calm down. I talked to my team because I have Nassourdine. I take his experience. I have Ciryl Gane. I take his experience,” said Gomis.
“I have a good team. I can control my feelings.”
During the height of the COVID pandemic the UFC was strictly based out of the UFC APEX in Las Vegas where many fighters made their UFC debuts. Gomis is one of the first newcomers since 2019 to make his debut in front of a big crowd.
“For me it’s good to have a lot of public. If you have a lot of public and here it’s Paris. All my public is here and I take all the power in the cage and it’s more easy to win for me,” Gomis said.
Gomis was so excited about his debut that he actually said he wants a quick return to the cage. Really quick.
“I want to fight tomorrow!”
Watch the entire post-fight scrum with William Gomis above.
