Ben Saunders has had three separate runs in the UFC thus far, and the third one begins at UFC Fight Night 103 as he battles Court McGee on the main card. Despite the fact he's parted ways with the UFC twice, he knows that for the first time in a long time, the UFC has his back.
“It always sucks when you’ve got other things occupying your mind and other things going on in the background,” Saunders told MMA Junkie. “As of now, I’ve got none of that. I’ve got my team and my camp together, everybody’s working together. The promotion seems like they’re down to work with me and they’ve got my back – my first card back, and I’m on the main card. They gave me a veteran and a known opponent in Court McGee. So I’m really happy with the fight and really happy with the event and happy to be back in general.”
Saunders has a lot of respect for McGee, but respect or not, he’s ready to put on an exciting fight this Sunday Night.
“I know what it’s like to go against people I have respect for or I like or I’m friends with,” Saunders said. “Once the cage door closes … my focus is going to be there, I’m sure his focus is going to be there. If the fight goes the full three rounds, you’re going to see 15 minutes of us both trying to kill each other. We don’t like to lose and we’re very competitive, and we’re both going to be doing everything we can to win.”
UFC Fight Night 103 takes place on Sunday, January 15 from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona with Yair Rodriguez and BJ Penn headlining.