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Thursday, Apr 05, 2012

TUF 13’s Ryan McGillivray on Nathan Coy: “He Doesn’t Show Me a Lot Of Respect”

Welterweight Facing  Strikeforce Vet For MFC Belt

By Kelsey Mowatt

While Ryan McGillivray fought officially just once in 2011 and saw his initial run with the UFC come to an end, the year provided a new benchmark for the 25 year-old-welterweight. By working his way into the thirteenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, not only did McGillivray make his dream of fighting in the Octagon a reality, but he received hands on training in what it takes to compete at the highest levels of the sport.

“I think it was a great learning experience for me and I took a lot away from it,” said McGillivray, who lost by unanimous decision to Shamar Bailey at the TUF 13 Finale card last June. “I guess it wasn’t an ideal year, as I only had one fight and I went 0-1, and if you look just strictly on paper it looks like I had a bad year. But I learnt a lot and I developed a lot as a fighter.”

“I got a chance to work with a lot of great coaches and all the guys on the show,” McGillivray added . “It led to me coming out to Greg Jackson’s camp and meeting all the guys from there; so there’s a lot of really positive things to take from it.”

Prior to making TUF, McGillivray (12-5-1) had become one of the top welterweight prospects in Canada by going 6-2-1 since 2008.

“It opened the door to train with a lot of high level coaches and fighters, but it also showed me that I wasn’t as far off as I thought I was,” McGillivray furthered. “When it came down to it, and I saw the level everyone was at–obviously there’s always something to learn, always something to improve on– but I realized that maybe it wasn’t as far off as a step for me as I thought.”

After he was released by the UFC, McGillivray elected to return to the Maximum Fighting Championship, who gave the Edmonton fighter his start to professional MMA in 2006.

“I’ve been there before and it’s some where I’m comfortable being,” McGillivray told FCF. “Some people have it ranked as one of the top companies in the world and their pure ability to promote is what I’m there for…My ultimate goal is to get back to the UFC, and I think they’re one of the best avenues for me to get back there.”

McGillivray made his return to the MFC in January, and scored a third round, armbar victory over Diego Bautista.

“You know every fight, including the next one and the next one is always the most important,” said McGillivray, who runs the Legends Training Centre in Edmonton alongside his father Kevin. “You’re only as good as your last fight…I think that fight was huge for me to get back on the winning track.”

As a result of the win, and an MFC record of 8-3, McGillivray was tapped for a May 4th bout with Nathan Coy to determine the promotion’s welterweight champion.

“I’m really excited about the match-up. I think he’s a great test for me,” McGillivray noted about the former All American wrestler, who entrenched a title shot by handing Dhiego Lima a unanimous decision loss at MFC 32. “He doesn’t show me a lot of respect so I enjoy that. It gives you a little added motivation.”

“He seems very sure that he’s going to win this fight,” McGillivray added. “There’s a couple of ways of looking at it. Either he’s confident because he thinks he’s that good, or he’s confident because he doesn’t think I’m that good. If it’s the latter it’s going to be a long night for him.”

 

 

posted by FCF Staff @ 8:30 am
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