"He is asking for a rematch with me already. I think he needs to win a few fights and earn his way to me. I not only mentally beat him before the fight, I submitted him. He keeps calling me a wrestler, but most of my wins are by submission, which takes Jiu Jitsu. He is not smart enough to know that submissions are not allowed in wrestling, but he probably thinks Brock Lesner made a lateral move and is still a Pro Wrestler," stated UFC lightweight and Ultimate Fighter 8 winner Efrain Escudero as he talked about Junie Browning, his big win over Phillipe Nover, his future plans and much more. Check it out!
PC: Congratulations on becoming The Ultimate Fighter last week.
EE: Thank you very much.
PC: How do you feel about your performance against Phillipe?
EE: I feel good. My timing was there and I kept my head up and stayed very clam in the fight.
PC: He attempted a few submissions on you. Were you ever in any danger of being secured in one of those submissions?
EE: I knew what he was going for and I felt that I could get out of any of the submission he tried. I never felt in danger at all throughout the fight.
PC: You held your own standing with him, but your wrestling was clearly the difference in the fight. Did you feel that would be the case going in?
EE: Well, I knew he had great hands and I knew what I had to do and it was get him to the ground and that's what I did. I just took one period at a time. I knew my wrestling was the key because I was the one helping him with his wrestling in the house so I knew that I could win. Nover is a great fighter, but my camp comes up with great gameplans.
PC: Did you feel a little disrespected by the fact that most people had penciled Nover in as the next Ultimate Fighter prior to you guys fight?
EE: No. I didn't let that get to me because if it did, that would of played an impact in my performance so I didn't feel disrespected at all. Fact is, Dana White sees something in Nover. I did not discount it. I elevated my game to make sure I could negate it.
PC: Nover was a very well-rounded fighter. Other than your wrestling advantage, did you see any other weaknesses in his game?
EE: I didn't see any weaknesses. I knew he was a great opponent so I needed to get better at everything because it was going to be a war. My father had me boxing since a very early age. Me and my brothers and friends would almost always settle our differences with a backyard boxing match. My father was the referee and coach. We grew up in a house that had a passion for boxing and I had a passion for boxing and wrestling. Also, when you grow up an immigrant in a small border town, you get your fair share of unsanctioned fights. I have spent my entire MMA career fighting in the summer months to pay the bills while I put myself through college. Dana gave me the ability to fight full-time and that was a huge advantage.
PC: Does it help you guys out to have a front row seat to all of the fights during the show, that way, you can know the other fighters strengths and weaknesses?
EE: Yes, that does help, but more than anything, I got to workout with Nover so I already knew what he had. That allowed me to get a good gameplan out there for him.
PC: Your previous 2 fights in the house, you had good reason to be motivated because of the drama that your opponents stirred up in the house. Was it a little tougher to get up for a guy you were cool with?
EE: No, not really. I knew that Nover was coming in to beat me up so I had to do the same. Yes, we're friends, but at the time of the fight, we're going at it pretty good.
PC: Where does making Junie Browning quit rank in your book of success stories?
EE: That was pretty cool because he talked a lot and was the most hated guy in the house I believe so it was one of my best stories yet. He is asking for a rematch with me already. I think he needs to win a few fights and earn his way to me. I not only mentally beat him before the fight, I submitted him. He keeps calling me a wrestler, but most of my wins are by submission, which takes Jiu Jitsu. He is not smart enough to know that submissions are not allowed in wrestling, but he probably thinks Brock Lesner made a lateral move and is still a Pro Wrestler.
PC: Have you spoke with him since the show? Are you guys cool now?
EE: Yes, we spoke and yeah, we're cool with each other. You know, that was a role he was playing in the house to be on TV, but oh well. No hard feelings. I beat him already (laughing).
PC: Who is your previous favorite Ultimate Fighter?
EE: Forrest Griffin because he is a great fighter and seems to carry himself with honor and integrity all the time.
PC: What was the hardest part of being in the house in your opinion?
EE: I believe it is being away from your family for so long and without any information about them and keeping my composure while dealing with the loss of my father.
PC: I hear you're looking forward to a fight with Roger Huerta. Why Huerta?
EE: He is easily one of the most exciting fighters to watch. Roger is a talented wrestler who has blended his MMA game to become a pretty well-rounded fighter. I am pretty sure what I said on the radio was he would be the type of fighter that I would like to be able to fight in 1 year. Problem is, if Roger is not taking time off, he will continue to evolve and may be out of my league for a while. I want to fight the best fighters in the world, I just need to take my time and trust the UFC will guide my career.
PC: This is a super-stacked lightweight division with a lot of well-rounded fighters. What do you think you have to work on the most to complete your game?
EE: My boxing and I can always get better at everything else. I am young and I have lots of areas to work on. This was the Ultimate Fighter title. I won a contract to be fighting for the best organization in the world. It is really just a shortcut to a starting point. The world title, that is the real achievement. Unfortunately, I have to fight a lot of ex-world champs to get a shot. It's a long road ahead.
PC: Thanks for your time Efrain. I definitely don't view you as another boring wrestler. Is there anything you want to say in closing? Anybody you want to thank?
EE: Yeah, I want to thank TapouT for sponsoring me, LG Sports Marketing, Southwest MMA and I want to thank all the fans and to those who believed in me from day one. And to those that didn't, it's okay, I still want to thank them and work on earning them as fans. And to my Hispanic people, GRACIAS Y ALRATO LOS VEMOS.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]