Eddie Wineland Says UFC on FOX 20 Win Was Just What He Needed

Eddie Wineland spoke with MMAjunkie after his win at UFC on FOX 20 last night. Some excerpts are below:

On considering retirement after his broken jaw at UFC Fight Night 40: “I broke the jaw and I wasn’t sure I wanted to come back. The only reason I wanted to keep fighting was for my 2-year-old son, just to prove a point to him that if you get knocked down, you get up and you keep moving forward. Get up and keep moving. This win tonight is exactly what I needed. I questioned myself quite a bit throughout this training camp – do I want to keep doing this? Is this really what I want to be doing? Not that I don’t love fighting, but the bumps and the bruises – I don’t heal like a 22-year-old boy anymore. I’m a 32-year-old man and I’ve got aches and pains all day, every day. To get in there and realize that because I’m a 32-year-old man, I’ve still got it.”

On thinking he was even up going into the final round: “Keith [Wisniewski] said he thought it was 1-1 – it was a close fight, and (he thought) the winner of (the third round) takes it. I was patient. I took my time and kind of stalked him down, and the first time I knocked him down, he wasn’t ready yet. The second time, I felt him go limp and then it was time to pounce.”

On the performance bonus: “My biggest goal is to pay my house off so my wife doesn’t have to continue to work…I would like it so my wife doesn’t have to work, and if I could pay the house down low enough and refinance, she doens’t have to go back to work.”