LAS VEGAS – With “the world is yours” and Al Pacino’s “Scarface” the most prominent of his tattoo collage across his chest and soldiers, Tommy McMillen walked on the dais with his hands raised and took his place on the dais.
McMillen had just impressed the META Apex crowd of hundreds with a first-round TKO of Manolo Zecchini on Saturday, part of the UFC Fight Night 272 main card, and he had plenty to say – especially since he didn’t get any mic time after being transported to a hospital immediately after winning a war last September on Dana White’s Contender Series. Also, this is a guy who spends a lot of time in the gym with his good friend and training partner, former UFC bantamweight champion Sean O’Malley.
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Being braggadocious isn’t that hard for McMillen.
“I said in all my interviews I was gonna go out and dominate this kid in a violent fashion, and that’s exactly what I did tonight,” said McMillen, who earned a Fight of the Night bonus for his efforts. “… A lot of people said I couldn’t knock that kid out. They thought I was gonna sub him out. I know that kid’s got like 10 or 11 knockout finishes, and I went in there, stood toe to toe, and I broke him in the first round.”
That was McMillen’s assessment of his UFC debut, but there’s a bigger picture about him that he wants fans to understand.
“I was here to prove a point tonight,” McMillen said. “Every time I fight, I’m chasing bonus money. You can expect that from all my fights.”
McMillen, 28, stayed undefeated in his career at 10-0 after the win over Zecchini (11-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC). McMillen said he would like to fight three more times this year and after winning those fights, he’d be ready to call out someone ranked in the top 15.
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While some fighters might like to slow-play their rise in the UFC, McMillen is the opposite – and that’s at least, in part, because he’s not overly impressed with the current makeup of the featherweight division.
“I don’t really think too much about any other fighters, but I know I have a lot more to offer than a lot of these dudes,” McMillen said. “I see guys in the top 15 that don’t have as big of followings as me, that don’t know how to engage with fans. You know, it’s like they don’t even know what to do, how to do their job properly. I think this is what I was born to do. This is genuinely fun for me. I love everything about it. I’m here to go straight to the top. I will become the 145-pound champion of the world. I know people are gonna say stuff about that, but people have been saying stuff about me my whole life. I don’t care. I’m gonna keep winning, keep cashing my checks and keep living the dream, baby.”
He added, “My dream fight is whoever has the f*cking belt when I’m there and ready to get it. And I think that’s gonna be a lot quicker than most people realize. We’ll be there soon.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Sean O’Malley friend ‘here to go straight to the top’ after UFC debut
