Athletes
Edgar Chairez Just Wants To Move On
After A Controversial Ending To His Last Fight, Edgar Chairez Is Eager To Get His First UFC Win At UFC Fight Night: Yusuff vs Barboza
Edgar Chairez thought he bagged his first UFC win with a first-round submission against Daniel Lacerda at Noche UFC last month. The elation wore off quickly, however, when it was determined that the referee had stopped the fight prematurely, rendering the fight a no contest. The result wasn’t just anticlimactic for Chairez, it was profoundly disappointing to not bring home a victory on a night celebrating Mexican Independence Day. The two were rebooked swiftly, and Chairez has another chance to snag a milestone victory at UFC Fight Night: Yusuff vs Barboza.
“I already won once,” Chairez told UFC.com. “I put (Lacerda) to sleep. There's no second chances in this one.”
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Chairez didn’t let the disappointment faze him too much. After all, he heads into their rematch knowing he can, at the very least, put himself in a position to finish the fight.
Although it would be understandable to carry that anger and frustration into the UFC APEX on October 14, Chairez believes he’ll have the same amount of intense composure as before.
“I didn't know him at all the first time,” he said. “Now it's different. I felt his punches. I felt his strengths, and I think I'm (more) well-rounded. I'm better than him this time. I'm not going to study. I'm just going to go in guns blazing and finish this guy.”
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Other than definitively getting his hand raised, Chairez admitted he’s looking forward to not having to think about Lacedra anymore. In total, Lacerda occupied Chairez’s mind for the last four months, and he is over it.
“It's been four months thinking about this dude,” he said. “I just want to move on. I just want to win again and move on with my career.”
More than that, though, Chairez wants to experience the unique feeling of a win in the UFC. The 27-year-old hasn’t taken the easy road, either. After compiling a 7-3 record on the regional scene, he competed on Dana White’s Contender Series but fell short on the judges’ scorecards to Clayton Carpenter.
After picking up a pair of submission wins, he finally made his first walk to the Octagon at UFC 290: Volkanovski vs Rodriguez, but once again fell short, this time to Tatsuro Taira, although he made it difficult for the bright prospect.
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Despite the inconclusive ending to the last fight, Chairez said he isn’t feeling an extra ounce of motivation. He is frustrated with the way things played out, naturally, but he just wants to move past this chapter with another win added onto his record.
“I've been working on being in the UFC for over 10 years,” he said. “I just want to feel the win. I've been working for this all my life. I just want to go there, finish this fight, get the win, go back to my family and my daughter.”
UFC Fight Night: Yusuff vs Barboza took place live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 14, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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