NEW YORK – Ramiz Brahimaj beat Mickey Gall with a first-round knockout Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC 309 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Take a look inside the fight with Brahimaj, whose KO was the first of his career after 10 submissions in 10 wins.
Ramiz Brahimaj def. Mickey Gall
Result: Ramiz Brahimaj def. Mickey Gall via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 2:55
Updated records: Brahimaj (11-5 MMA, 3-3 UFC), Gall (7-7 MMA, 6-7 UFC)
Key stats: Brahimaj has all 11 of his wins by stoppage.
Brahimaj on the fight’s key moment
“I’m a little disappointed in myself. I’m very proud of my performance. I think I did a great job. But I think in the past, I just want to kick myself in my ass. I’m like, ‘Dude, what’s wrong with you?’ … I don’t know why sometimes I’ve gotten in my own way and it’s just stupid, but I’m done with all of that. I flip the switch, I don’t care.”
Brahimaj on the big moment
“Madison Square Garden – I can’t really put it in words. I’m just thankful, blessed … I’m extremely fortunate. … This is a testament to a lot of things. I’ve been through some pretty rough times, some pretty dark times. I can’t really quite put my finger on what I’m feeling right now. I just know that it’s like a return on investment, like when you invest in something and it comes back and it’s doubling and tripling. That’s how I feel.
“It’s crazy to think: You know how life goes. If you would have asked me about a year ago if I would be here, I’d probably say no. I had a horrific neck injury that I thought was going to derail everything. I thought it was going to alter the way that I lived my life. My right arm completely atrophied for about three months. I didn’t have use of my right arm – I could not pull 5 pounds down. A lot of these emotions, a lot of these feelings are rushing back to me right now. and yeah, yeah. I don’t know. I I can’t really. I don’t know. ”
Brahimaj on what he wants next
“Obviously, it wasn’t the result that I wanted. I’m kind of frustrated with it. A lot went wrong in that training camp. But you live and you learn. One thing I’ve learned is that you can’t really fixate on the past. It already happened. Tonight, I kept telling myself backstage and this whole training camp: Nothing matters but now. I had to keep myself level headed because I couldn’t think about MSG.
This is definitely it. I could go on and win the championship. I would go on and make millions of dollars for the rest of my life. This moment right here that I’m sharing with you guys, it’s a very special thing to me because I lost a lot of sleep, a lot of tears, a lot of blood, all of that stuff, just to be here talking with you guys. It’s an amazing feeling. I think this is going to be one of the biggest moments of my life.”
To hear more from Brahimaj, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.
