Paul Redmond (10-4) is set to make his UFC debut in Stockholm on Saturday night on the undercard of Gustafsson v Johnson. The man with some of the best toe-holds in MMA spoke to us ahead of the most important fight of his life.
Redmond’s bout with the undefeated Mirsad Bektic in two days time is a far cry from the construction site he was working on when he got the news of his first UFC bout.
“I was at work on the construction site and I was on my way out to get some stuff from the van. Andy [Ryan] rang me and said ‘Listen, we’re after getting a mail from [UFC matchmaker] Sean Shelby and he was looking to see if you could make featherweight for a short notice fight. How fast could you do it?’ and I said I could do it in whatever time he needed me to.
“I thought it was going to be four or five weeks but when Andy rang me back at lunchtime he told me it was for Stockholm in 16 days and I just said ‘yeah, no problem’.”
Redser has never fought at 145lbs before and he failed to make the featherweight limit at the weigh-ins which means that he will forfeit a percentage of his purse but the Dub insisted he would have accepted the fight under any conditions.
“When the UFC comes calling you just don’t turn it down. I would have fought at welterweight if they wanted me to.
“But after I got that news from Andy, I just went back into work to finish out the day and the weight cut started the day after.”
Before being signed with the world’s biggest MMA promotion, the 28-year-old had been the focus of a number of social media campaigns to get him a fight under the UFC banner and Redmond believes that it his action-packed fight style which has earned him that popularity.
“Anybody who knows the way I fight would tell you that I’ve got an exciting style. I’ll try crazy things in there and maybe it only comes off for me half the time but I won’t stop trying them techniques.
“I think people might like me as well because I’m not the type of fighter who goes calling people out all the time. I’m just not one of those guys and maybe people respect that side of me.”
Redmond’s first fight is not an easy introduction to the UFC family as he faces the 8-0 Bosnian, Mirsad Bektic, and the Irishman is not underestimating his opponent by any means.
“I just watched his last UFC fight and he’s got some good boxing and strong wrestling. He comes from a good team, ATT, which I trained at for a month or two back in 2011. I think I know his game and I think it’s going to be a good fight.”
But Redser made it clear that he wasn’t going to go into the octagon on Saturday night with any rigid gameplan.
“I never really plan for specific fighters. You just have to go in there and anticipate anything to happen because, look at me, I throw unexpected things which can’t be planned for. You just have to train hard and hopefully you’re the better man on the night.”
Redmond, who is coming off a 7-1 stint with European promotion Cage Warriors, is famous for his toe-holds but he thinks his opponent will be well-drilled and cautious of any attempts from the Dub to slap on the seldom-seen submission.
“I think if it goes to the ground, Bektic will be very wary of my submission game and the toe-hold is something you can defend against but if I see it, I’m going to jump on it.
“People think that I drill that technique a lot in a Gi because the toe-hold is what I’m best known for. But I’ve actually never used it with a Gi because you’re only allowed attempt that particular move when you get a brown belt in BJJ. I’m only a purple belt so I strictly use it in no-Gi training and it’s a really nice technique without a Gi.”
Redmond is under no illusions about the high performance level required of UFC fighters if they are to remain with the promotion.
“I’ve signed a four-fight deal but you know the way things go. You often see lads cut after just one or two fights if they’re not performing. But I’m not here for just one fight. I’m here to perform and stay for the long haul.
“It’ll probably do me well that I’m an exciting fighter because ticket sales will do better if people want to actually watch you fight.”
The fact that the Bektic bout is Redmond’s first fight at featherweight doesn’t upset his plans too much as he revealed that he had intended on dropping down to 145lbs this year regardless.
“My plan for 2015, even if the UFC hadn’t come calling, was to move to featherweight anyway because I’m quite a small lightweight. It was just the fact that I was working full-time and training that made featherweight unfeasible.
“As soon as I got the call from the UFC, I asked the lads in work for two weeks off and they said ‘No problem’ and that’s why the cut has gone so easy … because I had the time to do it.”
Redmond is no stranger to big crowds as he was in the corner of Team Ryano teammate Neil Seery for UFC Dublin in July and he believes that no atmosphere will match the event that was headlined by Conor McGregor and Diego Brandao.
“There’s going to be 30,000 people expected for Stockholm on Saturday but I don’t think it’s going to be as hectic as the Dublin event because you know as well as I do what 9,000 lunatic Irish fans sound like.
“I’m fighting early in the card too so the whole crowd probably won’t be in by then but I can’t wait to get in there, regardless of the atmosphere.”
The Team Ryano fighter puts his absence on the UFC Dublin card down to his Cage Warriors loss to Mateusz Teodorczuk on New Year’s Eve 2013 but is focused on looking forward to his burgeoning UFC career.
“I think that loss set me back big time,” Redmond revealed.
“If I had won that I’d have been on an eight-fight winning streak so I’d have maybe got the call to be on the Dublin card with all the lads but, look, things happen and I’m here now.”
Paul Redmond fights in Stockholm, Sweden at UFC on Fox: Gustafsson v Johnson on Saturday night.
