Chris Padilla UFC Vegas 97 Post Fight Interview

how good taco how you feeling blessed um but what's it going to take for you not to be an underdog um coming in these fights hey I don't need it they can keep their opinion they can have whatever they want uh like I said my people back in the city just made so much money and I love it so please don't put me I need the underdog spot I need the disrespect I love it it's been a few minutes since your fight man how uh how you feeling physically my goddamn leg hurt man I ain't going to lie to you my I got I got I got chicken sticks over here man I wasn't built like that so he kicked me but I'm always dialed in pain is power man so watching him he knew he knew he was hurting I knew it was hurting but that only motivates me to be sharper Stronger Faster smarter so it is what it is what was the game plan coming into the fight the game plan was to be smart uh there's there's I feel like every fighter has holes all over their game but it's can you stay dialed in can you settle yourself down enough to see those holes yeah um you know fact it felt like he was just coming forward coming forward and you were just kind of slowly slowly waiting for him to either will or kind of pick your pick your shots was that kind of what you were thinking yeah the first round I was just talking to my coach just uh uh I was being a little too Macho where I was like I was like oh I'm a stand on this I'm about to you think you better than me okay let's get it then but then when I went back to the corner chilled out my coaches talked to me like hey man it's going to be there just do your thing do what you good at and I I think I have some of the best footwork in the game personally and I think I've set the best traps personally and uh that's what I did I bounc on my feet move move move you can see him getting frustrated cuz he I wasn't in front of him like I was in the first round it was hard to get to me and then uh I mentioned earlier if you guys watch the Muay Thai fights um super leg did just did the same thing you know I and I pride myself and be able to watch other fights make reads and go I can do that my coach talked to me we knew both all my coaches like he's a he's a right-hand guy that's that's his game he likes to throw heavy right hands at you uh and we always say split it we can either shoot on the right hand or we can split him on the right hand so that's what I mean there was no like this has to happen for you to win it's see the holes and take advantage of them now you've had a little bit of time to think about it how do you feel about your performance as a whole uh I think I'm worth 50k man I know uh uh the first one was like H maybe but um who's doing it like that man who who's splitting somebody with an elbow swelling their eye up and then my man was that's why in in the in the cage I was saying noas because when he when I saw him go I poke I poke come on boy how I poke you with a elbow I don't got fingers I don't got fingers on my elbows man you know that [ __ ] smushed your eye so that's why when he was doing that I was like I'm must kill you now that's why when they call when they called The Ref in he don't want no more he don't want no more and there's no disrespect to him because I think I really smushed his eye personally and I I felt that Butch excuse my language that [ __ ] mush okay so you know can you talk about the elbow and how like the read that you saw coming and the cross comes right down this line right here you know it's how me and my coach talk about all the time this is where the cross comes from so if you're coming at me this way I meet you like this we call it like a I'm sure you guys seen a bunch of Samurai movies where the two Samurai clash and then one goes down it's that type of philosophy where we're going to meet at that intersection but the the question is who's on point Who's off he's throwing a long weapon and I'm throwing a mid-range weapon at mid-range so um that's how it works he was in he he wasn't at the best range and I was and before you even finished him you were kind of kind of talking like what's up yeah I I you guys saw at the weigh-ins I knew it I knew it was going to come I just uh my coach tell me man I I love throwing elbows man like when I'm in the gym I'm always working my elbows and uh they weren't bad they were they were good elbows in the gym but I understand what he was saying where like like sometimes like let's say if you're a good wrestler and you like to wrestle in the gym you don't understand to you don't learn to set traps with your wrestling you don't learn to set traps with your favorite strike sometimes you just do it do it do it cuz that's what gets you by and so he made me box the whole Camp my other coach made me move wrestle the uh the other part of my Camp use my clinch the other part of my Camp so when it did come to it the El it was more of a setup for the elbow versus me going ah with my elbows you know so yep two and 0 this year you you trying to squeeze one more in nope uh my my coach is having a uh a baby uh we got a little a little jumy coming in so uh I want him to be able to spend time with his family he's going through a lot and I want to be there as support my fighter my uh my teammates have fights coming up and uh I don't want to be selfish you know cuz when you jump back into another fight all the attention has to come on you I want to make sure these guys get their proper attention they get their proper work so they can get their dubs and uh you'll see me at the beginning of the year with the UFC going to California at some point next year are you you're trying to pop on that card right uh [ __ ] you know me man I C's my place man I love to but I [ __ ] international national Vegas uh Vegas is going to be my new stomping ground now cuz uh [ __ ] two and 0 two fight two uh finishes in Vegas I love it I love walking around the hotel now so uh it is what it is I'll take whatever is given to me it's all blessed and I believe you call that masat yep what about that fight and interested you uh he beat Gabriel bonitz last time I thought he lost gabri I tried to get Gabriel which I understand why you know it didn't go the way it did and uh he he took out one of my countrymen I just took out one of his so it is what it is and I know that you were trying to put push to get on that no check card um what I guess you know I just want your thoughts on the Main Event co-main Event the card has as a whole like are you are you excited to watch it oh yeah man I I love I love uh I love the card that they stacked together I love that they got uh they set a day for Mexican fighters to come out there and do their thing I know I didn't get a spot but I i' I've I think you guys are going to remember this moment for a long time I just wanted to bring it to the Mexican fans but I know they're watching I carry them right here every time I step in here so I know I know like I said it is what it is man and uh when I do go there I'll probably be main event and I was supposed to be on the main card but you know whatever happened what happened I got I was the main event of the prelim so it's time's coming I will be there and I will be carrying that belt one day one ask for me uh is it going to be braids from now on or you going to let your hair go yeah I was telling my coach we were doing uh we went for '90s R&B on this one so uh I'm somewhere in between ' 90s R&B and '90s gangster rap H 2000s gangster rap maybe you know so so uh Hey if you guys like them I like them let's keep rolling them congrats thank you I appreciate the look uh I'm I'm G say Allen Iverson in his prime shees I take that too Allan was a beast so hey I'll take that too speaking of Beast you just you know Alex brought up you got the two in the year but it's a fight fight winning streak how do we make it to six next year uh stay Smart Stay sharp uh don't rush uh listen to my coaches listen to myself keep studying in the game I'm never I was just talking to my coach right now as much as I enjoy this win this is uh there's until I retire there's always another there's always another like don't don't think cuz oh you had an impressive performance that you're the guy you're never the guy in MMA MMA is like a very very very beautiful woman who's not really married to you okay she'll she'll she'll love you one day and then look at you the next day and be like yeah you know sorry I like him more now so that's how I treat MMA uh I have to always be advancing I always have to be progressing because uh there's so many nuances in the game people just W watch how many fighters saw that elbow and was like oh he's the elbow guy now no I'm not I'm the elbow knee kick punch take down sub you smash you on the ground I'm everything so just be the best MMA fighter in the world that's what's up I elbow kid kind of sounds kind of dope don't get me wrong Taco is fantastic but we had like guys like Kenny Florian obviously Tony Ferguson really Implement that why is the elbows underutilized in MMA uh because people are afraid to get in the knife and Dagger range that's the truth no hey right shout out to my coach but yeah people don't want to be in that range people don't uh I threw it earlier in the first round and uh my coach like hey we going to get there we going to get there play the game that's what it is and I just I don't think a lot I think a lot of people are like ah if I get close he's going to hit me ah if I get close he's going to take me down you see kind of he double out that people are afraid of those rangers cuz people don't train those rangers if that's the honest truth cuz in in this game like look at Tony Ferguson you know why Tony was good at it cuz if you took Tony down he could handle himself down there a lot of people fear being taken down and so it's real easy to oh my God I want to do that I'm scared what if he takes me down what if he hits me no no I train all ranges so yep knife and daggers that's what's up man I love it hypothetically with this with this woman you're in a relationship with gives you 50,000 this weekend how do you celebrate your birthday's right around the corner by the way um uh to be honest I'm not really even going to celebrate man I'm a uh I gotta be smart with this money this [ __ ] goes quick and uh like you said I'm not going to be back until uh early next year so I'm going just take my time take care of my family take care of my friends man just uh me and my coaches that's it I'm I'm going just pay my dues to those who who put everything into me and then I'm hiding in the bank and I'm going to go finish living like a poor person there you nothing wrong with that my man keep hustle going I shout out to the headband very uh Travis Senior you already know hey Amish Chavez man uh again a destroyer you know what I mean and that that's the energy I always want to bring when you see me better put some respect on it I see you and I respect you thank you brother felic thank you likewise brother I've just got one for you um on the broadcast they show tweets of people you know replying to your fight and someone said that they reminded you reminded them of Tony Ferguson and I you just mentioned him so I'm curious what you think of that that's one of the greatest honors of all time man um I know people this is this is the thing that makes me I'm not going to lie he makes me sick about MMA is that a guy can go on a losing streak and then he's trash bro if y'all don't shut that up bro like Tony Ferguson did the he gave us the greatest moments of his entire life bro Tony Ferguson is the type of guy he could be at anything that [ __ ] could be an astronaut if he wanted to but guess what he got in there and bled for us fought monsters for us and just man absolute Legend So to be even compared to somebody of that stature so so early in my career man that's it's an honor so thank you Tony for giving us the best man thank you for uh entertaining us man thanks for giving us pure violence at every moment of the fight and it's funny too that you say that I study some Tony Ferguson for these fights so I it was already in my head just how Tony throws elbows from the bottom the top mid-range uh yeah yeah I have so many if I can like make a list of uh of uh people that inspired me for this fight he was definitely one of I think I watched this fight probably like four or five days ago's up good thank you sir hey blessing thank you guys man shout out to my city man shout out to all my coaches jumy kickbox cmma uh fight science man thank you guys shout out to Gardina man uh we just going to keep getting better and sharper love you is that one of the