Interview with former UFC bantamweight Bryan Caraway
Former UFC, Strikeforce and WEC veteran, Bryan Caraway is right up there on the list of the best bantamweights the fight game has ever seen.
The former NCAA Division II wrestler currently competes in the South Korea based MMA promotion Battlefield Fighting Championship where he defeated Raja Shippen back in 2019, on his promotional debut to extend his professional MMA record to 22 wins and 9 losses. Known to be a submission specialist, Caraway has finished 16 of his opponents via submission.
'The Kid Lightning' has had his fair share of ups and downs in his career. He started his professional MMA career with an 11 fight win-streak and then went on a four fight winning streak in the UFC and was being considered as a serious contender for the title in the bantamweight division, before things went downhill and he went on a run of poor form coupled with personal problems that ultimately led him to quit UFC in 2018.
However, all's well that end's well and Caraway is doing well at his new home, Battlefield and awaits his next adventure inside the cage.
We recently got the opportunity to catch up with the Lightning Kid and speak to him about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and how it has affected the world of MMA, the recently called off pay-per-view UFC 249, Dana White's Fight Island and more.
Q. Its been a tough time for the entire MMA industry, and with events getting cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic, how do you think the general psychology has been, in terms of everyone who wanted to get back up and get things up and running again?
A. Everyone I know wants to get back! They want to train but the gyms are shut down. Its been tough for everybody, financially etc. For fighters, we are used to training regimens and we have a lot of energy and now we are finding ways to go the parks. But you can always look at the positives; the earth is healing a little thanks to reduced pollution. But we actually can’t wait when the gyms open.
Q. With this unfortunate last moment cancellation of UFC 249, and the tragic news of the demise of two of former UFC women's bantamweight champion Rose Namajunas' family members, has there been a certain sense of reality check of sorts where people are re-evaluating their lives moving forward?
A. Lot of people didn’t realize the magnanimity of the situation at first, and it’s really hard to understand something until it’s happened in your home country or at your home. Everyone thinks all of this is not going to happen to me! And I personally know Rose from a very long time and my heart goes out to her. I think it was extremely intelligent of Disney, ESPN and Dana White to decide to take a step back at the moment but you got to give it to Dana for his passion. He has come up with the concept of Fight Island and he is trying to make it happen and it’s the first sport which has gone ahead and given the fans what they want. The world is inside their homes.
Q3. Are you excited about the fight island, from a fighter's perspective?
A. It's really cool! It is something to get excited about in terms of being able to train and fight in a private island; and this might open up and play a different mix of flavors of things and its really going to help the entertainment side of the sport. The whole purpose is to make it like a Disneyland or like a theme park. There are so many things which come to my mind as a businessman as well as a fan. I think this is exactly what UFC needs to grow into something really cool!
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