Bassil Hafez garnered the victory at UFC 302 during the preliminary proceedings of the event against Mickey Gall.
The Egyptian/ Syrian combatant mentioned after the bout that he wanted to secure the knockout. But he was ultimately happy that he pleased the crowd overall. Hafez also felt like he further showed his rock-solid chin. But he also displayed improved conditioning in this outing by sustaining a strong pace over the full duration of the contest.
Bassil Hafez
In a post-fight interview with Bassil Hafez via UFC.com, he addressed the dynamic of competing in New Jersey with Gall fighting out of that state when Hafez said,
“I mean I’ve fought in enemy territory a bunch of times. When I fought in my regional promotion, my last one for Fury FC when I won the belt, I fought in Dallas-Fort Worth. As an Eagles guy, Philadelphia Eagles fan and native, I fought in a Dallas hometown against a guy from Dallas-Forth Worth. I’ve done it before. When I fought my UFC debut [versus Jack Della Maddalena], I feel like I was in enemy territory because I was fighting the golden boy for the UFC. He had people in the stands, he had his whole family there, and I’m always fine with that.”
“I like trying to entice the fans to support me more and come over to my side. Feel like I fight for a lot of reasons. I fight for my people, I fight for my family, I fight to honor my parents who passed away from cancer. I fight for a lot of important reasons. For me, if I can get the fans on my side to see my point of view, understand this is a sport that I love. I just want to put the most I can into every single fight and every camp so that I put the best product out there. So that’s all I want people to see and hopefully, I built some fans today.”
‘The Habibi’ wants to watch the tape now, work further things out with his team, and is always mindful of refining his craft even further. He felt pleased putting Gall on the back foot and implemented the pressure but still always feels like he can do better. Short of scoring a flying knee highlight reel KO in the bout’s opening seconds ala Jorge Masvidal, Hafez stated he will likely always have this post-fight mindset dissecting his performance.
UFC 302
As far as what’s next for him in the octagon following the huge June 1st W, Hafez stated,
“I’m coming back for that JDM [Jack Della Maddalena] rematch. That’s the goal is to earn my way back up there and get that rematch one day. Hopefully, challenge for the belt and win the belt. I would love a top-fifteen guy. Would love a ranked opponent. I mean I want to jump. So you know, I’m willing to do whatever the UFC wants but I’d like to keep climbing and keep working. Like I said JDM rematch is the goal. Maybe a main event in Wells Fargo Center one day. Philadelphia, hometown, you know, all the dreams. Make dreams a reality, that’s my goal.”
What a back and forth fight between these two????????
Bassil Hafez leaves tonight with the UD victory! #UFC302 pic.twitter.com/oKTfEuWKUb
— UFC (@ufc) June 2, 2024
