Eric Spicely Was Told He Was Being Cut Before Getting Silva Fight

Eric Spicely spoke (via MMAjunkie) following his win over Thiago Santos at UFC Fight Night 95. Highlights are below:

On being told he was getting cut before being offered the fight: “I got a call and they said ‘We’ve got good news and bad news.’ ‘The bad news is, we’re going to cut you and let you go. You lost your first fight and we usually cut those guys after ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ But we have this opportunity with the sale and everything we didn’t process your paperwork so you’re still on the roster. We have this fight in six weeks if you want to take it in Brazil.’ I just said 100 percent. I didn’t have any clue who it was. I just took it and they said it was Thiago Santos in Brazil.”

On preparing for his fight with Santos: “It was tough and I was bummed out at first. I felt like they weren’t really trying to do me any favors. Then I got my head on straight and realized they were doing me a huge favor. I realized if I beat him, it propels me into the upper echelon and raises my stock. I want to fight the best guys in the world and that’s why I’m here. Everyone is like, ‘Oh, what’d you do to piss off Joe Silva? What’d you do to piss off the UFC?’ Because Sam Alvey is ranked 25 and I lost to him and now I’m fighting the number 15 guy. It doesn’t make sense, but this is fighting and I want to fight the best guys.”