Evan Dunham Says He’s A Fan of Conor McGregor

In an interview with MMA Junkie, lightweight Evan Dunham (18-6-1 MMA, 11-6-1 UFC) spoke about being a fan of Conor McGregor and his plans in his division. Here are highlights:

On his next fight: “I’m not going to fight down. I’ll tell you that right now. I’m only fighting up. And I said that going into my last fight. Because they tried to give me someone who wasn’t ranked. And I was like, ‘Dude, I’m coming off four wins. If this isn’t an opportunity for me to fight up, I don’t know what is.’ And since I didn’t take a loss, I’m not changing my stance.”

On his draw with Beniel Dariush: “A draw never even crossed my mind until they said it, to tell you the truth. Because I think this was what, my 33rd fight or something like that total, counting amateurs. And I’d never had a draw before. So I wasn’t thinking draw. I was actually thinking I won that, because I won (Rounds 2 and 3). When I’m there, I don’t think about, ‘How did they score this round?’ I think about, ‘Did I win that round, or did I lose that round?’ But after this fight I’m probably going to start thinking a little bit more, like ‘OK, how exactly did they score it?’”

On the lightweight division: “The division is so jammed up at the top that it makes it really tough for anybody to work their way up. Because you’ve got Diaz, who’s not doing anything. You’ve got Conor, who’s – well, last weekend kind of helped it out. Now we have an interim champion, and there is starting to be some movement. That’s why the interim title was made,” Dunham said. “That’s the reason why they did the whole thing last weekend. Ferguson is the champ. In my book, if anybody asks, Ferguson is the champ of the 155 division right now.”