Felice Herrig Says She’s Not a Trash-Talker, Hopes For a Title Shot

Felice Herrig discussed her fight with Cortney Casey and more at UFC 218 in a new interview with MMAjunkie. Highlights are below:

On not being a trash talker: “I’ve been in the sport so long, I’m not a (expletive)-talker. I’m not petitioning like, ‘Give me a title.’ It’s not something I don’t think about. I’ve overcome a lot of battles in the past few years, and I’m very happy to be where I’m at. I feel very blessed that I keep getting better and better. I think a four-fight win streak is pretty big in the strawweight division. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but in the strawweight division it actually is a lot. I think there’s something to be said with that. Before I retire, and I’m not talking about retirement soon, but I’ve been fighting for 15 years. For every fighter it’s inevitable that we’re going to retire. I would like to fight for the belt, for sure, 100 percent. Four fights in a row, I think I would petition to be the next contender or fight one more time.”

On her physical state: “A lot of people don’t realize that over the years there’s wear-and-tear on your body, mentally and physically. After the loss I started working with a doctor. We found out everything that was chemically wrong in my body, which was a lot. It affected my performance severely, and it was going down, down, down. It took over a year to rebuild it back, and now I feel like I’m going up, up, up. Everyone can see that every fight I’m getting better, and I’m not steadily declining. Now I feel like I’m peaking. I feel like I have a lot more potential now. I can go out there and fight to my full capabilities. … I do feel brand new. I have all the knowledge and experience of being a veteran. I’ve learned from all the dumb, silly mistakes in the past. I’m smart enough to not do those things anymore. I did a lot of my learning in the years prior to the UFC. A lot of people are just getting their start in the UFC.”

On facing Casey: “I never take any fighter lightly. I never overestimate my opponents; I never underestimate them. I should be confident in my skills, and I am, but I also know every fighter is a dangerous fighter. Cortney, she’s had success. She wins one, she loses one, but she’s also fought a lot of really tough opponents. You have to give her credit for that.”