LAS VEGAS – Whether or not Dana White pumped the fighters up, Billy Goff knew he was going to deliver.
Goff’s win didn’t come without adversity though. The former CES dual-champion was hurt early before he rallied to finish Shimon Smotritsky in Round 1 at Dana White’s Contender Series 48 on Tuesday.
After he only signed one fighter in the first episode of the season, White gave all of this week’s fighters a pre-fight speech to bring it. But Goff (8-2), who has an array of finishes on his resume, was planning to regardless.
“It was weird seeing Dana in person for the first time,” Goff told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Tuesday’s DWCS 48 post-fight news conference. “That was like, ‘Damn, I’ve seen you on TV so many times.’ In my head, I didn’t really think too much of the Apex. It didn’t bother me all that much. It didn’t put any more pressure on me in my head.
“I like it when it’s more empty because then I can hear my coaches a little better and (White) basically said, ‘You’ve got to come out there and fight,’ and that’s what I do every time. So the pep talk didn’t get me up. It’s just, ‘Yeah, I came here to do that.'”
Whether or not Goff was affected by White’s pep talk, it appears it had some sort of impact since every winner on the card was awarded a UFC contract.
