Ilir Latifi Discusses With His Team Dealing With Hurricane Irma During Fight Week

Speaking to reporters in his post-fight media scrum after UFC 215 (via MMAjunkie), UFC light heavyweight fighter Ilir Latifi discussed his win over Tyson Pedro. Latifi also addressed his training teammates and coaches dealing with Hurricane Irma this week, since half of his team is from Miami, Florida. Below are some highlights.

Latifi on his team dealing with Hurricane Irma: “It’s been very hard (to focus). Because half of my team, my trainers … they have their families in Miami. They have their houses and children, everything. And seeing this catastrophic hurricane coming, nothing ever seen like that in history. You feel bad for them. They’re over here, and they’re watching the news all the time. ‘This is going to eat my home. What’s going to happen?’ People are like running away and they’re stuck in traffic. There’s no gas and stuff. It’s hard, you know, but we’re fighters. We live this life. And we’re used to always living on the edge. But, of course, it’s not easy to see the coaches to be nervous and thinking about home.”

Latifi on his team helping him out all week: “You’ve got to give them so much credit that they come over here, help us out all week. I was like, ‘Man, you should be over there with your family.’ But what can you say? They love this sport and sacrifice a lot. So, a lot of respect for all the trainers that sacrifice a lot to support us.”

On if he thinks the UFC was overlooking him for Pedro: “It’s business. You’ve just got to see it for what it is. He’s a good up-and-coming fighter, he has a lot of talent, and I think he’s going to have a good career. He was seen as a young prospect, undefeated. They wanted to test him against me, so OK. Let’s do it. For me, the hardest part was not being in the octagon for over a year. I felt that a little bit, dealing with injuries and stuff. But it was nice coming back. I felt the absence the first round, but then I just ground it out and put in the wrestling.”

Ilir Latifi on what he wants next: “Let’s see – top five. I’m ready to climb up the ladder. I’ve been away, and now I’m back.”