UFC welterweight James Krause has issued a statement following a short-notice split decision loss to Trevin Giles on the UFC 247 undercard.
Krause filled in on less than 24 hours notice when Antonio Arroyo was removed from the card due to cramping. Krause was at the event cornering his teammate Youssef Zalal and decided to step up and take the fight with Giles despite it being at middleweight, a weight class above where Krause normally competes at.
Despite taking the fight on incredibly-short notice, Krause put on an excellent performance, nearly submitting Giles in the first round with a rear-naked choke before ultimately losing a closely-contested split decision in an incredible back-and-forth fight between two warriors. Following the event, UFC president Dana White awarded Krause and Giles a $50,000 bonus each for winning “Fight of the Night.”
Krause later released a statement on his social media for his fans. Here’s what Krause wrote on his Instagram.
“Took a chance and came up short tonight. Lost a split decision to a tough guy a weight class above me on 18 hours notice. I knew what I was getting into and would do it all over again. With no risk there is no reward.”
If you look at the comments section, you will see numerous UFC fighters including Ben Saunders, Dan Ige, Andre Fili, Eryk Anders, Tatiana Suarez, Niko Price, and Sodiq Yusuff give praise to Krause for stepping up on short notice when very few others would. NFL running back Christian McCaffrey also praised Krause for his performance.
Although Krause saw his six-fight winning streak snapped, he arguably upped his stock despite losing the fight to Giles. Very few fighters would accept a bout on less than a day’s notice, especially up a weight class, and Krause nearly won. It was the stuff of legends and should earn Krause plenty of respect from fans, media, and fellow fighters.
Do you think James Krause should have received the judges’ decision over Trevin Giles at UFC 247?