One of the best stories in MMA right now is Tamdan McCrory as he stepped back into the cage this past September for the first time in five years and scored the fastest knockout in Bellator middleweight division history as he stopped former title challenger Brennan Ward in 21 seconds.
He followed up that victory with another statement win this past Friday night as he submitted Jason Butcher with an armbar in 66 seconds at Bellator 134.
Prior to the fight, McCrory (13-3) told The MMA Report that he wanted to make a statement against Butcher and in an interview that will be played on Friday’s edition of The MMA Report Live, McCrory talked about his win at Bellator 134 against Butcher.
“It’s not like I said that is what I was going to do, but that is what we were talking about,” McCrory said. “I was talking to one of my guys on the phone, the day of the fight and he was wishing me good luck. He asked if I was going to knock this guy out and I was like ‘if I really want to make a statement, I got to submit him and put that jiu-jitsu to use.’ It was one of those things that people saw in my first fight that I hit like a truck and no one really knows anything else about my game because I have not been active. It’s kind of cool that a little bit of my game gets a little more every time I am out there. I am not slouch on the ground obviously and now everyone knows it.”
Following the victory over Butcher, some people in the media have talked about the comeback of McCrory. However, McCrory does not call it a comeback, he calls it a warpath.
“I have said it before and I will say it again, it’s not a comeback, it’s a warpath. I did not come back into the sport to be like, ‘well let me just get a comeback fight.’ We came back and I was talking to Jimmy [Binns], no matter what we are doing, we are moving forward. We are taking this to the next level. Obviously, I had my stint before and I had good success in my first career of Barncat 1.0. Now we are on to 2.0.”
“We are new and improved. Everybody that I train with. Anybody that I have trained with has always seen a different side of me. Now everybody is seeing what everybody I train with knows. I got the skills. I got the heart, determination, toughness. I got the qualities to be a championship fighter and now it’s just showing everybody else. It’s a warpath. We are going to keep moving. We are going to keep going after bigger and better fights until their is a gold belt around my waist and there is some green in my back pocket.”
With wins over Ward and Butcher, many people believe that McCrory should be in line for a title shot in the Bellator middleweight division. However, Bellator announced yesterday that Brandon Halsey will defend the title in May against Kendall Grove and McCrory knows the title shot will come as long as he keeps winning.
“It’s not up to be to make those decisions,” McCrory explained. “I can whine, cry, and beg for a title shot or I can keep smashing heads and cashing checks until there is no other option. That is my kind of perspective on it. If I am winning, I am going to get there. That is all I have keep doing. Keep winning. Keep devastating. Keep it exciting for the fans and I am going to get mine. It’s just a matter of time.”
With Halsey’s next title defense being against Grove, who does McCrory want to face next? Simply, he does not pick his opponent and he will take on anyone Bellator offers.
“I really can not pick and chose. I am not going to call anybody out. There is enough talent in the Bellator middleweight division that I can challenge and assert myself with. There is nobody in the division that I can go asleep on. A fight is a fight and you have a 50 percent chance of losing. That’s it. It’s one outcome or the other. I do not look past anybody and I definitely did not look past Jason Butcher. Whoever they put me with, I am going to have to perform to my best again. Keep doing that until I get the gold and then do it again. Once you do it once, you have to do it again. Can’t stop.”