Video: ‘Puke free’ since 2010, Bryan Caraway hoping for top-10 opponent

While Bryan Caraway catches more than his share of grief from MMA fans, he’s quietly put together a respectable five-fight run and is eyeing a shot in the bantamweight division’s top-10. The key, “Kid Lightning” says, is the attitude that’s kept him “puke free.”

“I think what really changed things around recently was really just getting control of my emotions and my nerves and my performance anxiety,” Caraway told MMAjunkie. “It’s not that I was scared to fight. I was scared to lose, and all the pressure I would put on myself – my family, my friends, I didn’t want to let them down. I’d have really, really severe performance anxiety, and I got to a point where I started hating the sport so much that it just wasn’t fun anymore. It was just miserable.

“I couldn’t believe that I was letting something that I love so much that was so pure like MMA get so washed out by all the pressure.”

Caraway, who recently served as an assistant coach on “The Ultimate Fighter 18? in support of his longtime girlfriend, Miesha Tate,  most recently fought in April, where he earned UFC 159's “Submission of the Night” bonus for tapping out Johnny Bedford with just 16 seconds left in the fight. The victory moved him to 4-1 in his past five fights – a stretch that includes a lone loss by split decision to streaking contender Takeya Mizgaki in which Caraway was certainly competitive but went easy in the final frame, which ultimately cost him the fight.

He currently ranks as an honorable mention in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA bantamweight rankings, a position that seemed impossible after 2010 losses to Fredson Paixao and Mark Hominick.

The 29-year-old Caraway said the turnaround has eased him of those gut-wrenching stresses, and he’s now “puke free” in his past seven fights.

Check out the video above to hear more from Caraway, including his thoughts on “TUF 18,” women’s MMA and what lies ahead.