Las Vegas, NV — Kazakhstani bantamweight Sergey Morozov kicked off the UFC Vegas 66 card on Saturday with a decision win over Journey Newson, and was clearly upbeat following the fight.
“I feel great. I didn’t have too much damage done to me, and I feel great after this victory,’ Morozov (19-5) told media outlets including Cageside Press following the three-round affair.
There was good reason for Morozov to have his spirits high following the win. More than just another fight, the 33-year old was entering the first match-up of his new UFC deal.
“It’s very good, it’s very important. Because— every victory is important, but this victory specifically is good because this fight is the first fight on my new contract, and I start my new contract out with a victory. So I think it’s a great start for the contract, and I feel great about it.”
“Unfortunately the way it’s been working for me in the UFC is I win one, I lose one, I win one, I lose one,” Morozov added — a pattern that ended at UFC Vegas 66 on Saturday. “Here I’ve got a streak of two going, two victories, and I feel great about that.”
Building a win streak, “it’s very important. I think it’s very important for every fighter. It’s very hard for me mentally and psychologically to understand that, ‘you lost.’ And when you’ve lost, I remember those fights that I lost, I believe I could have actually won them if I had the right preparation,” explained Morozov. “I think now that I have the two going, it’s very important and I’m going to try and keep going that way.”
Watch the full UFC Vegas 66 post-fight press scrum with Sergey Morozov above.
