Edmonton — Bantamweight Cody Gibson was his own worst critic following UFC Edmonton, admitting following his win over Chad Anheliger that he was disappointed with his performance.
“I’m a little disappointed in my performance. I’ll have to go back and watch it, but you’re always calculating position over submission, risk versus reward,” Gibson (21-10) told media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout at the Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. “I felt like I played it a little safer than I needed to tonight.”
That, despite receiving a 10-8 from one judge in a unanimous decision win that saw Gibson dominate much of the fight, especially on the mat. Still, it’s not the type of bonus-winning performance Gibson is looking to put on in his fights.
“I’m trying to hurt somebody. I’m trying to go in there- I’m not making a million dollars a fight. So my silver lining is the bonus. Obviously you want to win fights, that’s important to stay here, winning. But I’m here to put on exciting fights for the fans, I know Chad was looking for it. So I’m a little disappointed in myself, that’s all.”
Then there’s the fans to consider, and Gibson appeared to have a very positive experience during fight week, meeting up with a number of UFC faithful.
“Think about how starved these people are for watching live fights. You come to a place like this, a fight town, I’ve met a lot of cool people since I’ve been here.” Gibson even gave tickets away to local fans, including a firefighter. “You want to put on a show.”
Cody Gibson now sits on a two-fight win streak, on his second stint with the promotion. His first, which kicked off in 2014, saw his debut come against none other than Aljamain Sterling. Yet despite how losses like Aljo, and one to Douglas Silva de Andrade (still with the UFC to this day) have aged, Gibson admittedly lacks confidence.
“I’m still good friends with Aljamain, he was texting me earlier today with advice because one of his teammates fought this guy that I fought tonight,” Gibson revealed. “So he had some words of wisdom, ‘hey look for this, look for this.’ So it’s great to stay in contact with him. And that’s what you would think, right? I’ve fought the who’s who, I’ve fought multiple guys who have fought for the belt, you would think I’d be oozing with confidence, but I’m not. And that’s the reality of it.”
“It’s something I’ve got to continue to work through in my head— why I don’t think I deserve the things that happen I think is something that, it’s one of those things you’ve got to deal with internally. Still something I’m working on for sure.”
Watch the full UFC Edmonton post-fight press conference with Cody Gibson above.
