Jason Knight kicked off the main card of UFC On Fox 23 by defeating Alex Caceres by second round submission via a rear naked choke.
Knight got emotional after the victory over the bantamweight contender, pointing to his late father as inspiration for a big victory on national television.
“Before the fight, I ain’t going to lie to you: All I wanted to do was cry,” Knight said to MMA Junkie. “My daddy, he died a little over a year ago, and tomorrow is his birthday, and I just had to get this win for him. I love you, Daddy. Dear Lord, I want to thank you for having him in attendance tonight because he was right there in that cage with me. He was there every step of the way. Daddy, I love you, and I’m telling you – I mean Cole Swindell (Knight walked out to the country singer’s ‘You Should be Here’), that song, right there, that just, it brings me back. Every time I hear it, my dad’s right there with me. I see his face. All I can think about is my dad. And man, I couldn’t think of a way to make him any more proud.”
Knight already has his next opponent in mind, one with a wild style that matches his own.
“I believe that me and the ‘Korean Superboy,’ we get out there, and we’re going to set out some fireworks and give the fans something to talk about for a long, long time,” Knight said. “And maybe one day I’ll sit out on my front porch and tell my grandkids, ‘Hey, I was one of the greats.’ And whenever they go back in it, they go, ‘No, Pawpaw, you’re crazy.’ I’ll go back and I’ll show them a fight between me and the ‘Korean Superboy,’ or me and whoever, and end up like, ‘Damn, you weren’t lying, Pawpaw.’ I mean that’s the type of stuff I look forward to.”
The Korean Superboy, better known as Doo Ho Choi, hasn’t competed since a “Fight Of The Year” bout with Cub Swanson at UFC 206.
