LAS VEGAS – Trey Waters beat Josh Quinlan with a unanimous decision Saturday to open up the main card at UFC Fight Night 223 in Las Vegas.
Take a look inside the fight with Waters, who made his UFC debut just two weeks after he won LFA’s welterweight title.
Josh Quinlan vs. Trey Waters
Updated records: Waters (8-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC), Quinlan (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC)
Key stat: Water won the overall striking battle 84-47.
Waters on the fight's key moment
“I took a little more calf kicks than I planned. He got my knees a little tweaked, as well. I’m limping a little bit, but I feel amazing. I feel good about (the win). It went about exactly how we planned – all the things that we worked on, all the things that we strategized to do, it all went according to plan, so I feel great about it.
“I did notice that he was hurt. He looked to be wobbled a few times, but I just wanted to stay patient. I learned from my last fight, I was a little unpatient in the beginning, got caught with a head kick, got wobbled, and then I got back to being patient and knocked him out cold. So patient is always the way for me.”
Waters on the short-notice fight
“We just had to keep it super simple. It was a week’s notice – (we) didn’t have too much time. Just me in general, just me doing what I do, me being myself, was going to get me the win. And I knew that when I accepted this fight.”
Waters on what he wants next
“It’s still so surreal. Everything happened so fast. I just became the LFA champ two weeks ago. Now I’m in the UFC (and) had a successful debut. It is crazy. … I do have a little bit of injuries, so I want to take a little bit of time. But man, this is an awesome thing. I’m so grateful to be signed to the UFC. I’m ready to get back in here for sure.”
To hear more from Waters, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 223.
