Nick Newell Wasn’t Offered WSOF 25 Tournament Slot

Nick Newell spoke with MMAjunkie about his fight with Tom Marcellino at WSOF 24 and more. Check out the highlights:

On not being in the eight-man tournament at WSOF 25: “They never asked me; I didn’t find out until – I found out from the Internet when people were tagging me and stuff, saying, ‘How come you’re not in the tournament?’ I guess they really wanted me for the Connecticut show and they wanted to do this tournament in November. I honestly thought, they announced seven people; I thought they were waiting for me to see how I would come out of this fight. But they gave it to (Luis) Palomino, so who knows? Maybe I come out of this fight unscathed and I can get a reserve bout.”

On believing he deserves a shot: “I just want a title shot; your goal when you fight is to be a champion and that’s the goal. Fighting three times in one night, obviously that’s a lot to ask, but I’ve wrestled for a long time and it’s not a big deal. I don’t like to toot my own horn, but I feel like I’m a decent draw already, so I don’t need to be in the tournament for people to garner interest in watching me fight.”

On his goal: “I’m going to do whatever I have to so I can get back to that title shot. He beat me. I lost. I accept it. In the beginning I kind of was saying this and that, but at the end of the day he got the win and I got a loss. My whole life, I’ve never let losses define me. I lost my first 17 wrestling matches, and I never quit. I’m not a quitter, and I’ve made phenomenal progress through my career. I have to make a statement so people want to watch this fight and I can get another crack at the title.”

On his fight with Marcellino: “I think that he’s good. I really do think he’s a talented fighter – and he has beaten a few local guys no one has heard of but I know for a fact are good fighters. He doesn’t have what it takes to beat me. He doesn’t have it in him. He’s a good fighter, but I’m a great fighter and he’s not getting past me.”