Surging UFC welterweight contender Alan Jouban will return to the octagon at next weekend’s UFC fight card in London where he will square off with the always dangerous Gunnar Nelson in the co-main event.
Jouban, who is currently riding a three-fight win streak, is very excited about the opportunity to fight a guy like Gunnar Nelson, who is ranked in the top-10 of the UFC’s stacked welterweight division.
With that said, Alan is not all smiles heading in to next weekend’s event.
Jouban was very disheartened to learn that his previous opponent Mike Perry had recently lined-up a fight with Jake Ellenberger.
Jouban had scored a lop-sided unanimous decision win over Perry this past December, thus putting an end to “Platinum’s” undefeated record.
Jouban explained to BJPENN.com’s Chris Taylor why he was somewhat insulted by the Ellenberger vs. Perry booking.
“Going back to the previous question where you said do I feel grateful for finally getting the fight that I wanted (a top-15 opponent like Gunnar Nelson). I definitely am. I feel like I kind of waited and served my dues. You know this is like my ninth fight in the UFC. I am 6-2 and on a three-fight win streak and so yea I feel as if I finally got what I deserve which is a top-15 opponent. But I will tell you what man. To be honest, I am still kind of pissed off. I saw a couple of days ago that Mike Perry got matched-up against Jake Ellenberger, who is ranked #12. And it just makes no sense to me. How does a guy who I just beat (Perry) get a top-15 opponent when I have been calling out guys like Jake Ellenberger trying to get a top-15 opponent for like the past 3 months?”
He continued:
“You know I am on a three fight win streak and I just beat Mike Perry and I call out Jake Ellenberger and ask the UFC to set me up with him and they can’t make that fight happen. So it takes three months and then I finally get paired up with Gunnar Nelson and then they (the UFC) just ‘give’ Mike Perry a top-15 opponent. It kind of pissed me off man. Like I lost a bit of trust in the rhythm and the flow that they (the UFC) do things. Like what is the process of this match making?”
Taylor told Jouban that maybe he could take some solace in the fact that perhaps the guys he had been calling out, like Ellenberger, were possibly contacted by the UFC but simply did not want any part of fighting him.
“You know that is possible. I did not hear back anything on Twitter from any of the guys I called out. So that could attribute to what you are saying. Regardless though, for me I have been working my butt off in the UFC for over three years now and to see a guy like Mike Perry, who has been in the UFC for a few months and is coming off a loss, get handed this fight. It was just a little repulsive and discouraging.”
With that said, Alan Jouban is still relatively happy because he got the type of fight that he wanted against a top-10 opponent in Gunnar Nelson.
“Obviously the fight booking is out of my control. At the end of the day I got what I wanted and that is the main thing. I got more then what I wanted as I asked for a top-15 opponent and they gave me the #9 guy in Gunnar Nelson. So I am definitely happy with that and am going to take full advantage of this opportunity.”