The professional debut of Chandler Cole will take place tomorrow night at Valor Fights 36 as he will meet Rob Bennett in a catchweight bout of 215 pounds on the fight card coming from the Gatlinburg Convention Center in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
As an amateur fighter, Cole went unbeaten (7-0, 1NC) and is coming off a decision win against Matt Foley at APEX Fights 10 in March. With his pro debut set for tomorrow night, Cole explained to The MMA Report earlier this week that he feels that he has everything to lose in this fight.
“At the end of the day, he is a pro and this is my first one,” Cole said. “He has been there and he has fought at that level. Honestly, I have everything to lose. I know that sounds crazy, but me having the amateur record that I had. If I go in there and get caught or something, what does that really say about who I fought as an amateur? So I feel like I have everything to lose. Which is good for me because that is what has drove me through this training camp.”
“No disrespect to Rob Bennett at all, but we were asking everyone to take this fight. I am the debut guy and there is really no point for people that are 3-0, 4-0 taking this fight against debut guy,” he continued. “Because just like me, they have everything to lose. You beat a debut guy, it’s like oh well. But you lose to a debut guy and then people keep looking at you. At the end of the day, this is a business now.”
Check out Cole’s complete interview with The MMA Report below.