Brady Hiestand is disappointed he didn’t finish Fernie Garcia but is pleased with how dominant it was.
Hiestand was set to fight Garcia at UFC Vegas 65 in his first fight after having knee surgery and coming off TUF. It was the longest layoff of his career but it didn’t appear to impact him as Hiestand used his wrestling to control the fight.
“I felt like it was pretty dominant but I am not happy unless I get the finish. I was expecting to go out there and finish him in the first or second round,” Hiestand said to BJPENN.com. “He was good at defense. I got to some positions where I wanted but he wasn’t making any mistakes. Other than that, I was happy to showcase more of my striking but it still is the beginning and it’s something I can improve on.”
Hiestand happy to ‘dominate’ the entire fight
Although Hiestand did get his hand raised, to begin the fight, Garcia landed a big shot that nearly dropped him. It wasn’t the start he wanted but he ended up controlling the rest of the round but still thinks he lost that round due to that shot.
“I don’t like getting dropped. So, I do think it is a big thing so during the fight I gave him the first round,” Hiestand said. “But, after going back and watching it, the only time he won part of the fight was the first 10 seconds. I dominated the entire fight so I do think I won all three rounds. But, at the end of the day, five years down the road it will say unanimous decision and people will forget if it was 30-27 or 29-28.”
With Brady Hiestand getting his hand raised, he hopes to return soon but doesn’t care who it is against. Yet, his one request would be to fight in front of fans next time out.
“I have a 30-day suspension but I’m already talking to my coach and manager and we are trying to get back in right away,” Hiestand said. “I have no injuries and I think the worst thing I got was a little cut under my eye. I’m ready to get back into a fight pretty soon…
“At this point, it’s not like I’m trying to shoot for a big name,” Hiestand later added. “I’m just trying to get one or two more wins before I start getting these more known names. Just stack some wins and build my resume up.”
Who would you like to see Brady Hiestand fight next?