LAS VEGAS – Adama Diop sat eagerly on the edge of the folding chair UFC staff had placed in the center of the Meta APEX cage as Dana White gave a glowing review of Aieza Bertolso.
White then moved along to Ian Escuza. While he was less complimentary of the performance due to the officiating circumstances around it, White still awarded Escuza a contract.
It was now time. Diop (7-1) stared at the monitor as White opened his mouth, hoping to hear that a UFC contract was headed his way after a second-round TKO of Zaurbek Sabanov (4-1). The contract did come, but not with the review Diop hoped for.
"All right, big guy," White said. "Your fight was horrible, sloppy, and one of the worst fights I've ever seen on the Contender Series. Your standup is horrible.
You tried to wrestle your way to a win until the crowd starting booing you out of this place. If you fought in the UFC, a UFC heavyweight will knock your ass out the way the way this kid did and get the win. Here is the even bigger problem. You're 31 years old. If you don't get this opportunity tonight, what are you going to do? Where are you going to end up? How's it going to go? Don't make me f*cking regret this."
Diop, who is a proud representative of Senegal, didn't quite understand White's words. However, he picked up on the signal that he was being offered a UFC contract and broke out in dance, similar to his post-fight celebration.
The review was later relayed to him. Despite the criticism, Diop is confident he's ready – and willing to prove it whenever his UFC debut happens.
"This is a dream that I had for three to four years, chasing my dream, trying to hope to get this contract," Diop told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference Tuesday. "I'm really thankful for Dana White's Contender Series. ... I haven't showed much yet. Totally was just a little piece of what I can do. I can do a lot more. I can show a lot more. More to come in the future."
"... I'm aware (of the criticism). That's normal. He's the president, so he has experience. I couldn't be there thinking or trying to play it nice or play it clean too much. I was here to get the contract, however I was supposed to get the contract. I got the job done."
Regardless of how his UFC career unfolds, Diop will have made history. Upon his signing, he is the first Senegalese fighter in promotion history. A large watch party in his native country was shown on the broadcast, and even the U.S. Embassy tweeted about him Wednesday. Diop is proud to represent
"Me, I have people who have been following me for a while," Diop said. "I've been competing in wrestling in Senegal also. People couldn't wait for me to get in here. All of Senegal was cheering for me. All of Africa also was cheering for me. You guys will see a lot more movement coming in the future."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Adama Diop responds to Dana White bashing UFC contract-earning fight
