LAS VEGAS – Another Steven Asplund fight, another barn burner. And after beating Guilherme Pat by unanimous decision in their heavyweight battle this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 284, Asplund addressed UFC matchmakers directly with an absurd request.
"Sean (Shelby), Mick Maynard, I want whatever fat f*ck you want in front of me," Asplund said on the mic during his post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier.
Asplund (8-2), now 2-1 since joining the UFC off of Dana White's Contender Series last summer, quickly has built a reputation as one of the more entertaining fighters on the roster. While he had a specific callout in mind in the immediate aftermath, he chose not to make it.
But after thinking about it a little further, Asplund decided to shoot
his shot during his post-fight session with reporters.
"I want Jamahal Hill," Asplund said. "Jamahal Hill is a fat boy who just came up (to heavyweight). That's a f*cking nice scalp to add to my wall. It's funny because I was just talking sh*t. I wanted to call him out at the (UFC Performance Institute), and not even two minutes later the motherf*cker walks in. I'm like, "Oh, hey" (laughs). So maybe I do got to shut the f*ck up. But you know, Jamahal, run it, baby. A little couple of hood cats from the Midwest, show me something, you know?
"I know he probably don't respect me, and I could tell by the way he's looking at me at the PI, he don't think I'm shit. I'm gonna keep proving myself to everybody that don't believe."
Asplund understands the absurd optics of a three-fight UFC veteran calling out a former UFC champion in his first year with the promotion. But still, he means well.
"I'm sitting here talking about somebody that was a champion. I know I sound disrespectful, (but) this does not come from a disrespectful place," Asplund said. "This is me trying to show everybody that I am willing to take f*cking tough fights. And I don't know what everybody thinks about Jamahal, but I'll tell you what: I want whatever the UFC wants, and I think Jamahal would be a very fun fight. It's an entertaining fight. We like his fighting style, I like my fighting style, and he's an abrasive motherf*cker just like me.
"So come on, let's have a press conference, let's talk some sh*t. Come on, push me."
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC Vegas 120 winner Steven Asplund shoots his shot, calls out 'fat boy' Jamahal Hill
