SALT LAKE CITY – In a heavyweight battle that took a few turns for the weird, it was Justin Ledet – and his relentless jabs – that really made an impression.
Facing yet another UFC newcomer in Chase Sherman (9-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) at his octagon debut on Saturday, a cool Ledet (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was able to stick to his strategy and box his way into a solid all-around decision win.
Taunts from a bloodied Sherman and some boos from the crowd aside, it’s a performance that the strategic-minded Ledet will not apologize for.
“I’m trying to finish the fight all the time, but at the same time, I want to stick to my game plan,” Ledet said after his first UFC win. “Just because somebody is trying to bait me into doing something that they want to do doesn’t mean I will do it. If he would have kept putting the pressure, sooner or later he would have gotten knocked out.
“The reason he didn’t get knocked out is because he stopped going forward, because he started taking all the punches. And that’s when he wanted me to stay in front of him and bang. That’s not my style. I have skills. These brawlers – if you want to stand in front of each other and bang, that’s cool. But I have skill – I stand behind my skill. That’s why I’m about to go party and he’s in the hospital right now. Plain and simple.”
The heavyweight scrap opened up the preliminary card of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 92 event at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of the rest of the card on FS1.
It’s with the same level of pragmatism that Ledet seems to approach fighting in general. While many of his fellow fighters talk about their desire for finishes, the heavyweight says he doesn’t really have knockouts as an end goal. For him, it’s about putting on dominant boxing performances and, of course, having his hand raised at the end.
“You can look at every interview I’ve done – I’m never, ‘I’m going to finish this guy in the first round, I’m looking for the knockout,’” Ledet said. “I’m not looking for that. I’m looking to go in there, to do work, put on a good display of boxing, come out with the win – show people what real boxing is.
“It was a matter of time, really. If you notice, (Sherman) pressed me hard in the first round. I started countering his shots and in the second round he started pressuring again and got hit. So, once that happened, I feel he stopped pressuring as much and I wasn’t able to get the knockout. I’ll beat people up all day. I’ll throw 100 punches a round. That doesn’t matter to me whether I get the knockout or not. I’m here to hurt people. The end result was a win, so I’m happy with that.”
Though Ledet’s preference for boxing has been made quite clear – with money being cited as the main motivation behind his decision to pursue MMA as a career – the 27-year-old heavyweight did make it clear that his hands are not the only tools in his arsenal.
“My boxing is definitely going to set me apart,” Ledet said. “But don’t get me wrong – I’m definitely well-rounded. That was my eighth fight. I’m 7-0-1 and I’ve got four submissions on my record. That just shows how well-rounded I am.
“My ground game is legit, as well. It’s pick your poison with me, that’s how I feel.”
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