Ryan Gandra ‘ready to be UFC champion’ after claiming UFC contract
DWCS 79 winner Ryan Gandra talks to MMA Junkie and other reporters after being awarded a UFC contract from Dana White for his first-round TKO victory.
LAS VEGAS – Ryan Gandra has made some tough decisions to get to this point in his career.
After a first-round TKO stoppage of Trent Miller (8-3) at Dana White’s Contender Series 79 at the UFC Apex, Gandra (8-1) became one of five fighters to earn a UFC contract. For the 30-year-old middleweight, the moment is validation that he made the right choice to stop working jobs and focus on his fighting career.
“Decisions had to be made,” Gandra told MMA Junkie and other reporters through an interpreter during a post-fight news conference. “I worked a lot, I worked on a lot of things, and I had to make a decision. Tough ones, becuase you have to provide for your family. Things are going to get tight, but I knew that in my heart it was going to be the right decision, and I was able to make it. I’m very happy with the decision I made. It paid off.
“I’m very happy I’m here. I’m a UFC fighter now, and I tell you what, it’s rewarding. Write my name down: Ryan Gandra, the next champion of the UFC.”
Gandra has a baby on the way, so the timing of earning a UFC contract couldn’t be better.
“That was the biggest reason to be here, to get the win, to did what I did and to get the contract,” Gandra said. “Just to know that my wife relies on me and that I can trust her and she can trust me to do this. There’s a child coming into this world, David, that’s going to be 100 percent dependent on what we do. They gave me the strength, they gave me the willpower to be here. This was all for them.”
