Fresh off a hard-earned victory over Adam Livingston on this week’s edition of Dana White’s Contender Series, veteran wrestler-turned-fighter Tommy Gantt stepped out of the cage with more than just a win. He left with momentum, validation, a contract and a chance to show the UFC why his grind deserves a spotlight.
Gantt (11-0) needed less than three minutes to submit Livingston with a first-round guillotine choke. After a tense face-off at weigh-ins, he was relieved to put the heated buildup behind him.
In the lead up to the fight Livingston eluded to the two sparring some time back, and possibly getting the best of Gantt.
“We sparred prior to me having an amateur fight I believe. I was at their gym and I went with all of their best guys,” Gantt told Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.
“I was taking him down, but I mean that was all I was doing at that point. We traded a little bit on the feet and I think he might have caught me in an arm bar or something like that, but it wasn’t like…it’s sparring. A fight’s a fight, sparring’s sparring and obviously you see what happens.”
Gantt has been putting in work with Daniel Cormier at his new facility ‘The Academy’ in Gilroy, CA. Getting work in with the hall of famer and guys like Torrez Finney have sharpened his game up quite a bit.
“I made a lot of improvements over time. I credit one of my coaches, he like to be anonymous, but he’s just set me up with some phenomenal training. From the striking to the grappling,” he said.
When the fight was over, Gantt locked eyes on Livingston as the decision was read. Livingston, avoiding his gaze, stared into the distance before finally shaking Gantt’s hand and exiting the Octagon.
“I guess the Long Island boys talk a little trash or whatever. Where I’m from we don’t really do that because we take trash talk personally,” he said.
“If you do that you better be ready to stand on it.”
Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Tommy Gantt above.
