Joe Proctor

By Kelsey Mowatt

After missing all of 2013 due to injuries, 2014 is turning out to be a solid year for Joe Proctor, who has scored back-to-back victories thus far. Most recently, Proctor took out Justin Salas in the second round at UFC Fight Night 45, and the lightweight is hoping to close out the campaign with yet another pivotal win.

“Oh yeah, absolutely; like I said, I want to fight good guys and I want to move up in ranks,” Proctor relayed on a recent episode of Full Contact Fighter Radio, when asked if he’s hoping to face another established vet next. “Like I said, 2014’s my year, so hopefully I can get another veteran and get another solid win and keep moving up the ranks.”

Salas had some momentum heading into UFC FN 45, as the former NCAA Division 1 wrestler was coming off a highlight reel, stoppage win over Ben Walls in May.

“I felt like it went good,” said Proctor, who worked his way to a unanimous decision win over Cristiano Marcello in February. “I knew it was going to be a tough fight going in and Salas came out just like I thought, really aggressive, hit me with some good shots. He put a nice sized hematoma on my head which is memorable. I ended up staying calm, and finishing my punches just like I wanted to.”

Joe Proctor

“I figured he’d come out just the way we worked on,” Proctor added later in the interview. “Came out southpaw, good strikes, a little unorthodox, but he shot a couple of takedowns, which we knew he was going to go for, and I think I did a good job of defending those.”

There’s no question that most fans will likely always recall the massive hematoma Proctor received in the fight, right above his ear. The 28 year-old says he was able to focus on the task at hand, however, even if everyone in the arena was buzzing about the wound.

“I felt something on the side of my head, and I wasn’t sure if it was a cut or a nice sized egg,” Proctor recalled. “The funniest part is, in between rounds, I looked at Joe Lauzon and said ‘how is it?’ He gave me this awkward look, and was like ‘it’s…good.’”

“It didn’t hurt at all, so it wasn’t even in my head,” Proctor furthered. “I just went in there, staying calm, not worry about it, but I think my corner realized how bad it was. They told me you have to go out and get the finish right now. The first round was close, but you might have lost it, so you have to get the finish. So I went out there and did what I had to do.”

As is usually the case with hematomas, Proctor was happy to report it didn’t take long before the jaw dropping lump began to shrink.

“It’s actually gone down a lot,” Proctor relayed during the podcast. “They just told me to put ice and a lot of pressure on it, and kind of rub it out; make sure that it wasn’t just staying a big egg. I’ve never had one of those before; it was definitely interesting.”

With the July 16th win, Proctor is 3-1 in the Octagon and his overall record is 10-2.