Chad Laprise eyes ‘big fight’ after UFC on FOX 26; Belal Muhammad or Yancy Medeiros would do

WINNIPEG – With three finishes in his past three UFC fights, Chad Laprise is hoping to get a big fight next.

Who that will be against is negotiable. After all, as Laprise (13-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) said in the octagon right after his knockout win over Galore Bofando (5-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) at Saturday’s UFC on FOX 26, names aren’t that important to him. But, while he’s at it, the welterweight might as well throw in a couple of suggestions.

“I would love to fight a guy like Belal Muhammad or Yancy Medeiros,” Laprise said after the welterweight preliminary card bout, which aired on FS1 from Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. “Guys who are kind of like established veterans. Guys who I respect, who’ve been around a long time, who would bring a good fight to me.

“So, really, I really don’t care. Just somebody who wants to come out and fight and not just hug me and hold me down forever, you know.”

Laprise certainly has put himself in the position to have some octagon aspirations. Not only was the first-round finish of Bofando his third knockout in a row, but it was a particularly interesting one considering that, for a few seconds there, it appeared Laprise would be the one needing the referee’s intervention.

It looked a bit rough, but Laprise says that at no point was he hurt.

“Galore is super fast, man,” Laprise said. “I don’t even know what he hit me with. Either it was a straight left or a straight right. He didn’t hurt me at all. All of a sudden I just fell, I was on my back. I was able to get back up right away. But props to him. He’s fast.”

Despite the early scare, Laprise says he was prepared to deal with what Bofando had to offer – including, given a history that includes a memorable UFC debut over Charlie Ward, some first-round danger.

But the fact he wasn’t surprised by anything is no detriment to Bofando’s skillset – in fact, it’s the opposite. Precisely because he was so aware of Bofando’s unique style, speed and flexibility, Laprise made sure to put in avid, opponent-specific training.

If anything did surprise Laprise, it was the fact that he was able to get the job done so early.

“He was fast, he was explosive, exactly what we’d prepared for,” Laprise said. “I didn’t necessarily think I’d get the takedown that easy. It was on the first shot. But, you know, I worked really hard for this fight. I didn’t take Galore lightly at all …

“I did have a 13-week training camp for this fight, as if it was a world title fight. So it’s just nice to be able to go out there and get that first-round finish. That’s three finishes in a row for me now in the UFC, so I’m hoping to get a big fight after this.”

To hear from Laprise, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage of UFC on FOX 26, check out the UFC Eventssection of the site.