LAS VEGAS – Clayton Carpenter may now be a UFC fighter, but he’s not happy with his performance.
Carpenter’s entertaining back-and-forth battle with Edgar Chairez at Dana White’s Contender Series 49 on Tuesday left him with a black eye, but he was able to rally using his grappling to earn a hard-fought win and a UFC contract.
Carpenter (6-0) came into the fight having finished his past two opponents in less than a minute and was disappointed to let the judges get involved.
“I let it get a lot closer than it should have,” Carpenter told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at the post-fight news conference. “I got a little impatient in there and started getting a little bit more frustrated than I should have, and I started pushing a little bit more than I should have. It’s whatever though – it’s all a learning experience.
“I’m going for the kill and I didn’t get the finish and I consider it damn near a loss, in my opinion.”
However, despite the harsh opinion on his performance, Carpenter knew it was enough to ink a UFC deal.
“I believe that I put on a good show,” Carpenter said. “I don’t really know what it looks like from the outside until I study the tape, but I felt like I put in an adequate performance and it gave me a lot to think about. I faced adversity in that first round. I got clipped with a shot that I didn’t even really feel, but it looks a lot worse than it felt.”
