UFC Fight Night 114's Niko Price: I just took out a striker in 3 minutes

MEXICO CITY – UFC welterweight Niko Price was well aware of the expectations on him heading into a fight with Alan Jouban, so it was fun to buck them.

“I just took a striker out in less than three minutes, because at three minutes, I was supposed to take him down,” Price (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) boasted backstage at UFC Fight Night 114 after his first-round stoppage of Alan Jouban (15-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC). “But he fell down.”

Jouban caught a right hand that sent him to the mat, and he nearly took a head kick on the way down.

“He’s honestly lucky I didn’t hit him with the right kick,” Price told MMAjunkie backstage at Mexico City Arena in Mexico City, which hosted the FS1-televised fight. “But I’m not in this sport to hurt or kill people’s career.”

Instead, he’s here to work his way up. It seems to be going well with three straight wins – one overturned due to a positive marijuana test – and an undefeated record.

If Price’s post-fight celebration was any indication, he realizes he’s on the way up.

“I said, ‘expletive’ a lot,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

At the same time, Price seemed to bristle at his fallen opponent. Apparently, Jouban underestimated the possibility of taking damage on Saturday night, because Price was all fired up about it.

“I just wanted to express, don’t ever go in to a fight and expect not to get hit,” he said. “You’re going to get hit in a fight. I got hit, and I knew I was going to get hit. You’ve got to expect that. Don’t say I’m not going to hit you, because I’m 11-0 now. I’m going to catch you probably. Respect is for respect. If you don’t respect me, I’m not going to respect you after the fight.”

One thing is for sure: Price is getting the respect of MMA fans, because so far, he’s given them no reason to do otherwise. And he doesn’t plan on letting up.

“I’m down to bang,” he said. “I’m going to stand there and see what you got. If I can’t handle you up there, I’m taking you to the ground to see what’s there. I’m ready to go whenever.”

For complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 114, check out the UFC Events section of the site.