MIAMI – Kyler Phillips is in a unique situation this week that he’s been waiting a while for, but he’s determined to not let the gravity of it get in the way of the task at hand.
Phillips (11-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC) takes on Pedro Munhoz (20-8 MMA, 10-8 UFC) in a bantamweight bout on the prelims at UFC 299 (pay-per-view, ESPNews, ESPN+), which takes place Saturday at Kaseya Center in Miami.
When he’s done, his longtime teammate and friend Sean O’Malley will put the title on the line against Marlon Vera in Phillips’ same division. He said the excitement of fighting on a card together for the first time in the UFC won’t overtake his own moment.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Phillips said at Wednesday’s media day for UFC 299. “I met that guy over 10 years ago, and it’s cool to see all of us, everybody, just get into that next level and see him headlining as the UFC champion. He’s set a very good example, and I just love it. He’s always had that energy about him. He’s always had that kind of ‘just do something crazy’ (mentality) since I met him. That’s just his personality. You always knew he’s going somewhere with it. We knew that was coming for sure.”
Phillips said O’Malley is a little different than the wild, multi-colored hair persona he gives off on camera, though.
“(He’s) super genuine, very smart, very calculated, trains his butt off and puts a lot of time and his life into this,” Phillips said. “And that’s why you see he’s UFC champion. It’s just cool to be around that energy.”
Phillips will try to absorb some of that energy for his fight against Munhoz. A win would give him three straight after the lone setback of his UFC career so far, a majority decision loss to Raulian Paivia in 2021.
He said he’ll react to whatever Munhoz brings.
“I think I’m just going to let it all play,” Phillips said. “There’s so many different things that I’ll be able to do to him on my speed, on my timing, on my territory, in my time and in my octagon. I just need to make sure that I’m there. That’s my job.”
Check out Phillips’ full interview in the video above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 299.
