Joseph 'Ugly Man' Holmes is "bummed out" for missing out on bonus, says he is being "put through the wringer" by UFC

Sportskeeda's Daniel Vreeland caught up with Joseph Holmes after his spectacular win over Alen Amedovski at UFC Vegas 55. They discussed Holmes' early days in the UFC, not being given the Fight Night bonus, and the amazing support provided by his girlfriend in the run up to the recent fight.

Joseph 'Ugly Man' Holmes is a middleweight fighter in the UFC. Prior to making his debut, he was seen on Dana White's Contender Series. He lost his first fight in the promotion to Jamie Pickett before submitting Alen Amedovski last Saturday.

You can read the limited transcription and view the timestamps of the interview below.

_________________________________________________________________

Introduction: Hi, this is Daniel 'Gumby' Vreeland from Sportskeeda MMA, and joining me today is Joseph ‘Ugly Man’ Holmes, fresh off of his huge finish over Alen Amedovski at UFC Vegas 55.

Q: So Joe, I wanted to start here, you know obviously you got put through the wringer by the UFC.

The Contender series, Lookin' for a Fight, you know, then your debut doesn’t go your way, you know.

What did this win mean to you? What were the emotions like when you finally sunk it in?

A: Bittersweet man. I already knew I could perform that way. I just needed the opportunity to do it.

And they finally came through with that opportunity and I just feel like, “See, told ya.”

Q: Well I love that, now we talked a little before the fight, we talked about a couple of changes you made to your camp.

Add a little strength and conditioning there, making sure your gas tank was good for a full 15 minutes.

Are you a little bummed that you didn’t get to show that off? Didn’t get to show everybody that you have those tools?

A: A little, I mean I definitely looked forward to a long fight, a long gruesome fight.

But I just feel like all the work I put in kind of helped me be confident about that, just confident all around.

I just definitely feel like coming off a loss, putting in all that work just to be ready for, you know, expect whatever.

It just definitely made me feel like, just like a sicko man, like getting in there, like I could do anything.

Like I can throw this knee and land, and it did, you know what I mean? So, no, it was definitely worth it still.

Q: I want to take you to a part that surprised me a little bit in your fight.

And that’s actually after the fight when the UFC unleashed all those bonuses, your name somehow doesn’t come up in there.

And you know I’ve got to tell you, one of the craziest finishes, you hit the flying knee, you get the submission.

Were you surprised it didn’t come down to you?

A: I’m still bummed out. I even tweeted Chase Hooper like, “Dude, I’m so jealous.”

Like I can’t believe you got that over me, but you know you earned it congratulations, but like dude.

Like I don’t know what else I could have done, maybe if he didn’t get back up after the knee and I didn’t have to choke him.

He just like flashed knockouts from that knee. Maybe that would have got me the bonus?

But no man, I’m just super surprised, super shocked.

But then again, I mean like you said before, like I’ve been put through the wringer from the UFC.

They’re not like, they’re not giving me any handouts, like they’re definitely planning on not making this easy for me.

And making me have to work for every single thing that I get from them, so, it is what it is.

Q: Do you feel like this kind of treatment, and this kind of you know, not making things easy on you makes you better?

Or is it, you know, you could use a handout once in a while?

A: I mean I definitely would have loved a bonus, especially one that I felt like was rightfully mine.

I mean, I saw the two fights that got the bonus.

And I’m very confused like what they saw [in] those fights [that] they didn’t find in mine, because my fight was very quick.

I was dominant the entire time, you know, like I don’t know, but I mean it’s going to make, it’s definitely, it doesn’t make me hungrier. That’s for sure. Like I’m still super hungry and determined to win.

And like the way I won is how I always win, like I already win my fights like, you know, in some type of spectacular form.

So I don’t know, I guess [I] just hope that there’s somebody else on the card that’s not going to do as well as those guys did.

So they don’t take my bonus next time.

Q: I wanted to ask you too, about you know, enjoying fight week a little bit too.

I noticed she was there for a lot of that.

What was it like being able to share, you know, not just a tense time for you with weight cutting and all that kind of stuff, but ultimately, the probably most triumphant time of your entire career with her?

A: Oh man, it was amazing dude, she was on cloud nine.

Just so proud because she saw what I went through and she was there for me the entire time, like dealing with me cutting weight, you know, and pretty much having to like coddle my emotions, you know what I mean?

Like when you’re cutting weight and doing that type of stuff like you don’t want people like eating around you.

You know, you don’t want people talking about how hungry they are around you.

And she did a great job like being real sensitive to the fact and just kind of like staying out [of] the way. But being in the way you know, not in a bad way, just like being there because I want her there.

She did a great job and I went and I hired her a chef as soon as we got back to make her breakfast, because she did that for me day-in and day-out during camp so.

Q: Now I know you’re only two fights in your UFC career.

Is there a name or anybody on the tip of your tongue that you’re hoping to see across from you, when you do get to throw down again?

A: Oh no, I got lots of management man, and I’d hate to do their job for them.

Then I’ll be trying to negotiate their percentage, so yeah, definitely just got to be ready.

And I know they’ll pick someone that they know I can beat, so I’ve just got to make sure I continue to get better and better.

So I can step up to that task.

Check out Joseph Holmes' interview with Sportskeeda MMA below:

---

Timestamps:

Q1: So Joe, I wanted to start here, you know, obviously you got put through the wringer by the UFC.

The Contender series, Looking for a fight, you know then your debut doesn’t go your way, you know.

What did this win mean to you? What were the emotions like, when you finally sunk it in? (0:15)

Q2: Well I love that, now we talked a little before the fight, we talked about a couple of changes you made to your camp.

You know, adding a little strength and conditioning there, making sure your gas tank was good for a full 15 minutes.

Are you a little bummed that you didn’t get to show that off? Didn’t get to show everybody that you have those tools? (0:40)

Q3: Well that’s good to hear, now did you feel that lose right away from all of the, like you said, the preparation and stuff?

Or when you were in there with Amedovski did it seem to open up?

The fact that you could see openings, you could see good spots. (1:31)

Q4: I want to take you to a part that surprised me a little bit in your fight.

And that’s actually after the fight when the UFC unleashed all those bonuses, your name somehow doesn’t come up in there.

And you know I’ve got to tell you, one of the craziest finishes, you hit the flying knee, you get the submission.

Were you surprised it didn’t come down to you? (2:10)

Q5: Do you feel like this kind of treatment, and this kind of you know, not making things easy on you makes you better?

Or is it you know, you could use a hand out once in a while? (3:14)

Q6: Absolutely, now let’s talk about the next time you’re going to smash someone’s face too.

Because I’ve got to imagine, just barely over a minute in there, it didn’t look like you hardly took any good shots.

How are we feeling? Are we already back in the gym here? We’re talking on Tuesday after your fight. (4:08)

Q7: I wanted to ask you too, about you know, enjoying fight week a little bit too.

Because I noticed she was there for a lot of that.

What was it like being able to share you know, not just a tense time for you with weight cutting and all that kind of stuff?

But ultimately, the probably most triumphant time of your entire career with her? (5:40)

Q8: That by the way, is a good play right there, getting her a chef the day after.

What did he cook up for you guys? (6:46)

Q9: So, you know, you said you’re going to take a week before you get back into training and all of that kind of stuff.

Do you have an ideal time for when we’re going to turn around and see you back in the cage?

Do you want to, you know, get right back into a fight camp after these eight days?

Or [are] we talking you know, slowly working your way back in, see you in three months or so? (7:00)

Q10: Now I know you’re only two fights in your UFC career.

Is there a name or anybody on the tip of your tongue that you’re hoping to see across from you, when you do get to throw down again? (7:50)

Q11: Well we are absolutely looking forward to seeing it.

And we’re looking forward to seeing back in there with another nine week camp.

Once again fans this has been ‘Ugly Man Joe’ who’s coming off his big win over Alen Amedovski at UFC Vegas 55.

Joe, thanks for the time man. (8:19)