Melissa Croden again fights in front of her Canadian combative compatriots this weekend as the ranked UFC bantamweight looks to continue to climb the 135 pound ranks. On October 17th as part of UFC Fight Night Edmonton, Melissa Croden looks to keep building by fighting fellow ranked bantamweight, Chelsea Chandler. After honing skills at Xtreme Couture and the UFC PI recently, when asked about getting to have a partisan return to competition on this Alberta-based UFC FN card, Melissa Croden said [via MMA Canada],
“I am super excited to be able to fight in Alberta, the motherland for me. Amongst a lot of fighter friends that I have made over the years. But yeah, I would fight only on Canadian cards if I could. So far it’s worked out like that [laughs]. I’ve only had to fight in [Las] Vegas once. But yeah, it’s a different vibe in there, man. Like when you walk out and you know that everyone is hopefully on your side seemingly. Yeah, it really pushes the energy, gives you a lot of energy while you’re in there. I never really thought about it before experiencing it, but I always look forward to it now.”
When asked if being situated within the the UFC’s bantamweight rankings hierarchy emboldens her confidence even more heading into Saturday, Melissa Croden stated [via MMA Canada],
“It actually kind of adds a bit of a pressure to the next fight in a way. I try not to think about it too much cuz the rankings can change so quickly. I try not to like put too much meaning on a number because you just never know what’s going to happen in there. Like there are certain punches that land that become equalizers and you’ve seen it time and time again where the underdog defeats somebody when they were a huge underdog in a fight and it’s shocked the world.”
“But to me, it isn’t surprising when those things happen. I mean it is but at the same time it’s not surprising when those things happen. Because fighting is such a weird sport that way where weird things happen in there. Like you don’t know what version of yourself is going to show up. I mean, we train and do our best to ensure that we do everything right, but it’s chaos.”
“It’s chaos in there and you’re trying to find the control within that chaos constantly through adaption, through your training, through being calm, seeing properly in there. It’s just weird. Like Charles Jourdain, when he fought he said that he had enough because he couldn’t see. Like he must have gotten punched in the eye or something like you don’t know. Because I’ve been punched in the eye. It wasn’t an eye poke.”
“I’ve been punched in the eye before in sparring and you literally can’t see for a few minutes and then that kind of stuff will accumulate. So, you just never know what people are feeling in there. Yeah, I mean I am very proud to be in the top 10 and I never imagined that it would happen this quickly, but yeah, I’m taking Chelsea Chandler on as if she is in the number one spot.”
Melissa Croden touts chandler’s great resume but knows the recipe for victory at UFC Edmonton
Espousing her thoughts on Chandler’s skillset and fighting ledger (which includes names like Priscila Cachoeira, Joselyne Edwards, Norma Dumont, and Yana Santos), Melissa Croden quipped [via MMA Canada],
“She’s got a great resume, man. Like I think that she’s very durable, a very tough fighter. She certainly is not afraid of taking on a challenge. So I don’t think she’s going to be afraid of me or anything. Which is fine. But yeah, she has a good solid background in jiu-jitsu. I believe she is training under the Gracie Barra banner. So I just know that she’s well-rounded. I know that she’s a southpaw. But again, my focus is on ‘what can I do?’ I am aware of what she can do.”
“But I need to focus on how do I make this fight my fight? So, I’ve been focusing on not so much what she’s capable of doing, but what am I capable of doing? How to implement my game plans. So, that’s kind of the mentality I have. My coaches do watch film on her more so than I do. So, I put a lot of trust into them to kind of guide me in the correct direction. Yeah, every day I just put my head down and work.”
