Las Vegas — Lightweight Ignacio Bahamondes was Team Blue Corner all the way at UFC 306 this past Saturday.
The 27-year old from Chile was paired up with Manuel Torres at the event, marketed as this year’s Noche UFC card in honor of Mexican Independence Day. Mexican fighters found their home in the red corner at the event, with the “visitors” at The Sphere in Las Vegas fighting out of the blue corner.
Ignacio was the third straight fighter to score an upset over a Mexican favorite when he finished Torres with strikes on the preliminary card.
Asked if there was a “vibe” or energy in the blue corner on the night, Bahamondes (16-5) told Cageside Press that “it’s crazy, it’s crazy because we knew we were us against Mexico. When we got in the bus, the first thing I said [was] ‘this is the Win Bus. This is the Win Bus.’ So I knew it’s La Noche, it’s for the Mexican people mostly, but we’re going to silence The Spehre, we’re going to go and win. And I think that makes you go a little bit harder.”
“I knew it was going to be hard, the crowd and everything,” he added. “So I go and I went for the kill.”
Speaking of his emotions after the bout, Bahamondes explained that “everything, all the whole experience this whole week has been awesome, been a blessing for me. Just being part of the big event, being there, winning like that, I’m still so high. I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep tonight.”
Throughout the four minutes or so of cage time on Saturday, Bahamondes showed an impressive ability to slip, dodge, and roll with the punches. He earned his fifth career knockdown in the UFC, without having been dropped himself.
“I’m Chilean. I’m built different. All the Latinos can handle it. I’m Chilean, I’m strong, I’m faster, and I’m smart too,” Bahamondes suggested when asked about his ability to dole out damage without absorbing any in return. “That’s the thing, I know, whenever I’m in danger I know how to survive. That’s what Chileans do. We’ve been in so much trouble always, and we always keep fighting, never give up and get up, keep going forward always.”
Watch the full UFC 306 post-fight press scrum with Ignacio Bahamondes above.
