Athletes
Billy Quarantillo Is Fighting In His Backyard
Billy Quarantillo Looks To Get Back In The Win Column Against Cub Swanson During The Co-Main Event At UFC Tampa
It’s likely that Billy Quarantillo will always be Billy Q from Buffalo, but for accuracy’s sake, the Upstate New York native has been a proud Tampa resident for the last 14 years, so when he takes to the Octagon at Amalie Arena on Saturday night, he will be the hometown hero, right down to living just 15 minutes away from the venue.
The featherweight veteran used to be even closer, two blocks away to be exact, when he moved down south – not just for the better weather, but to chase glory as a mixed martial arts fighter. At just 1-1 as an amateur back in 2010, those days were on the horizon, but he was still dreaming big.
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“The first apartment I had was two blocks away from Amalie Arena,” said Quarantillo. “And I would literally run by the arena at nighttime while working these s**tty jobs. And I was like, one day I'm going to fight there. I would go to Lightning games and I'd watch them play the Buffalo Sabres. And it's one of those things that I would always envision. And sure enough, here we are. It's a surreal experience. The closer it gets, the more jitters I get because I'm so excited to be there. I just did a tour of the stadium a couple weeks ago and it's a dream come true, and I’ve got to go out there and make the most of it because I don't want to look back on it and say I should have done this or I should have done that. So I'm more than prepared for this opportunity.”
That attitude of leaving it all in the Octagon is shared by his opponent, UFC Hall of Famer Cub Swanson, and despite “Killer Cub” having just celebrated his 41st birthday last month, Quarantillo is not expecting anything less but a prime opponent hungry to get back in the win column.
Billy Quarantillo Fight Week Interview | UFC Tampa
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Billy Quarantillo Fight Week Interview | UFC Tampa
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“His last two fights were very close against really good guys,” said Quarantillo of Swanson who defeated Hakeem Dawodu and lost a Fight of the Night split decision to Andre Fili in his most recent bouts. “So not only am I expecting the best Cub we've seen, I know I feel the same way with us both getting older. We don't know how many fights we got left, and you don't want to end with a loss. So that's how I'm looking at it. I'm giving it everything I got. It's in my hometown, and I know he's not taking me lightly. I absolutely know that he probably knows he only has one or two fights left, so he's going to give it everything he has, and I think every fighter wants to end their career with that storybook win, that highlight reel finish.”
Quarantillo, 36, has his share of quality clips on his own highlight reel since joining the roster in 2019, most notably his bonus-winning stoppages of Gabriel Benitez and Alexander Hernandez. Add in a loss to Shane Burgos in 2021 that would have been Fight of the Night on any card not including a Justin Gaethje vs Michael Chandler bout, and he’s put together a solid UFC career thus far. But after a March loss to Youssef Zalal, Quarantillo is seeking to end the year on the right side of the win-loss equation.
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“I don't even want it to sound like an excuse, but the last fight, we kind of rushed it because my wife was due a couple of weeks after my last fight,” he said. “So going into that last fight, I had a lot on my mind. I didn't know if she was going to have the baby during fight week. I was in Vegas, and the week before I was in the hospital with her because she was having some issues. And, as you know, the fight game is a very mental game.”
Thankfully, mom and baby are all good, and the Quarantillo’s now have two boys in the house. As for dad, he’s dodged some diaper duty to get ready for a fight he considers to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest, of his nearly 12-year pro career.
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“I've won a UFC fight every year for the past five years: 2019, 20, 21, 22, and 23,” he said. “So it's kind of like a must win for me because obviously I didn't perform last fight. I had another baby, this is my first year as a gym owner, and with all that being said, my passion has always been actually fighting, and so this is a way that I could redeem myself for earlier this year, and I can look back on this year, like I have for the past five years, as another great year. With everything that's happened so far to me this year, all the trials and tribulations, it would make it one of the best years of my life, especially going out there and getting a big finish and putting a huge stamp on what I've done so far in my career.”
And he gets to do it in a co-main event 15 minutes away from home.
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“Buffalo is always going to be what I consider my hometown, but I've spent most of my adult life in Tampa,” he said. “I've been here since I was 21, so I know Tampa probably better than I know Lewiston, where I grew up, because I spend every day here now. So it's a home game for me and I'm excited for it. Most of my friends live here now and I don't know as many people anywhere else. We've already sold a few hundred tickets for this fight, and it feels like it's the biggest fight of my career and it's very motivating going into this fight, not only because it's in Tampa, but because I'm fighting a guy like Cub Swanson, who's been there and done that with pretty much everyone. I'm more than prepared for this huge opportunity because you never want to get a huge opportunity and not be ready for it. So it's not like a short notice thing. They've given me plenty of time, and they probably don't think they're doing me a favor because obviously Cub's a super good fighter. But, for me, I love big opportunities. I like scary matchups, I like exciting matchups. And the more pressure I feel, the more it's going to motivate me to go out there and have a crazy good performance.”
UFC Fight Night: Covington vs Buckley took place live from Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida on December 14, 2024. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!