Russian UFC welterweight fighter Rinat Fakhretdinov spoke out after his win over Bryan Battle at UFC Vegas 66, held on December 18.
It didn't surprise me the way he handled himself in the standup. But his defense skills on the ground surprised me. I'm feeling good, I'm getting fights more often. It's been my dream to fight in the UFC, so I'm happy with the current situation. It's time for new fighters, new UFC heroes. It's time to knock all the veterans out of the top 15. I'll do the clean-up with my own hands.
Rinat Fakhretdinov, quoted by MMA Fighting
The fight between Fakhretdinov and Battle took place on the night of December 18 at the UFC Fight Night 216 (UFC Vegas 66) tournament. Rinat won by unanimous decision of the judges and set a new UFC record of 14:11 control time in this fight.
Fakhretdinov competed against Andreas Michailidis of Greece at UFC Fight Night 207 last June. The fight lasted the whole distance and ended in Rinat's favor by unanimous decision of the judges. He has 20 wins and one loss on his record.