The call to be on Dana White’s Contender Series is a monumental part in many mixed martial artists’ careers. The chance to punch their ticket to the biggest stage in the sport, and do so in front of Dana White, is a major turning point. Although all of that holds true for Wes Schultz, when he got the call, there was a different initial reaction.
“At first I was thinking ‘F*ck, this is really early [to find out]. I’m going to be thinking about this for the next four goddam months,” Schultz said with a laugh. “But after that I was pretty excited, man. Obviously, this is why I do it.”
And it’s not surprising that Schultz wanted to get right to it – afterall, his nickname is “Party Time”. That nickname describes not just wanting to get down to the fun part of the fight, but also other aspects of his fighting style and life.
“I’m not afraid to have fun and kind of do different techniques – let it hang out a little bit while I’m fighting,” he said. “And when out of camp… similar philosophy.”
Schultz expects his Dana White’s Contender Series opponent, Mansur Abdul-Malik, to oblige him in a fun fight. He expects it to be a wild one that the boss is sure to love.
“I don’t foresee him trying to take me down all that much. I think we’re going to meet in the middle and f*cking start swinging leather,” Schultz explained. “Win or lose, we’re not going to get paid by the hour. I think one of us is going to f*cking find the other one. We just got to get in there and find out who it’s going to be.”
That fight with Mansur Abdul-Malik will serve as the main event to week one of Dana White’s Contender Series. That fight takes place this Tuesday with the card beginning at 7pm EST on ESPN+.
You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 30:32.
