Matt Schnell Would Rather Get To The UFC On His Own Than Through The Ultimate Fighter

In an interview with MMA Junkie, The Ultimate Fighter 24’s Matt Schnell (10-2) said he would have preferred to get to the UFC on his own than to use a reality show. The winner of the competition, featuring sixteen flyweights, will fight Demetrious Johnson (24-2-1 MMA, 12-1-1 UFC) in December at the TUF 24 Finale. Here are highlights:

On how he got to the UFC: “To be honest, I would’ve rather gotten to the UFC organically rather than going through ‘The Ultimate Fighter. ‘. But the opportunity came to me, and you don’t turn something like this down. It’s different than any other season has been with a title shot at the end. It was big – it was a big way to jump in and make noise early, which I thought I was capable of doing. We just ran with it. If the UFC would’ve called me and said, ‘Hey, do you want to do “The Ultimate Fighter” or do you want to just fight in the UFC?’ I’d have been like, ‘Yeah, I’ll just fight in the UFC.’ But it worked out the way it did, and I’m satisfied.”

On his training: “I did my best to soak in everything that was happening around me. It was a good opportunity to mix it up with different guys. When you train with better guys and other people that are considered top prospects in the world, you kind of realize you belong among those guys. It was a great time. I learned a lot, and I was able to work with Henry (Cejudo) a lot, and it was an awesome experience to work with him.”

On his goals: “I’m out here trying to do the best I can to be a professional and move forward in this sport and continue my ascent.”