Jason Knight explains why 'all he wanted to do was cry' before UFC on FOX 23 win over Alex Caceres

DENVER – Last week Jason Knight made his Saturday night plans clear: He was going to knock out Alex Caceres and use his post-fight mic time to ask for a fight against Dooho Choi.

The plan ended up being slightly altered: Instead of a knockout, Knight (16-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) caught Caceres (12-10 MMA, 7-8 UFC) with a second-round rear-naked choke at UFC on FOX 23. The “Koren Superboy” callout part, however, was certainly maintained.

Following the event, Knight went into further (and adorable) detail as to why he wants the matchup so badly.

“I believe that me and the ‘Korean Superboy,’ we get out there, and we’re going to set out some fireworks and give the fans something to talk about for a long, long time,” Knight said. “And maybe one day I’ll sit out on my front porch and tell my grandkids, ‘Hey, I was one of the greats.’

“And whenever they go back in it, they go, ‘No, Pawpaw, you’re crazy.’ I’ll go back and I’ll show them a fight between me and the ‘Korean Superboy,’ or me and whoever, and end up like, ‘Damn, you weren’t lying, Pawpaw.’ I mean that’s the type of stuff I look forward to.”

The featherweight bout opened Saturday’s UFC on FOX 23 main card at Pepsi Center in Denver. It aired on FOX following prelims on FS1 and UFC Fight Pass.

That wasn’t the only touching part of Knight’s post-fight interview. Now riding a three-fight winning streak after a setback to Tatsuya Kawajiri in his octagon debut, the 145-pounder went on to talk about how his biggest win to date was also a particularly emotional one.

“Before the fight, I ain’t going to lie to you: All I wanted to do was cry,” Knight said. “My daddy, he died a little over a year ago, and tomorrow is his birthday, and I just had to get this win for him. I love you, Daddy. Dear Lord, I want to thank you for having him in attendance tonight because he was right there in that cage with me. He was there every step of the way.

“Daddy, I love you, and I’m telling you – I mean Cole Swindell (Knight walked out to the country singer’s ‘You Should be Here’), that song, right there, that just, it brings me back. Every time I hear it, my dad’s right there with me. I see his face. All I can think about is my dad. And man, I couldn’t think of a way to make him any more proud.”

After getting the job done in impressive fashion on what was, according to Knight, the last scrap on his current UFC contract, he also used his mic time to talk money, saying his renewal will be “negotiated to the fullest” with the promotion.

“And (UFC President Dana White), if you take care of me, I’ll take care of you,” Knight said.

Inside the octagon, however, it wasn’t all business for the 24-year-old.

“It was fun – a lot of fun,” Knight said. “It was kind of flashy and everything, but it was exactly what I expected. I got a guy, one of my good standup coaches, and he went back and studied the tape. And we knew what he was going to throw. And my coach, I mean, he broke him down to a science for me.

“I was ready to go. I knew pretty much what was coming at all times. And yeah, he caught me with a few good shots and everything, but he was just quick. And it pretty much was nothing I didn’t expect. (I) and went out there and got the job done.”

To hear more from Knight, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage of UFC on FOX 23, check out the UFC Events section of the site.