MMARising.com: Your three most recent UFC bouts, against Frankie Edgar, Rich Clementi and Jim Miller, respectively, have been your most impressive to date. You remain as the only person to have defeated Edgar and you’ve made all three wins look fairly easy. Do you feel that you grow as a fighter with each passing fight, especially when the level of competition is this high?
Gray: That’s always my main goal, to improve with every fight. I evaluate every fight with my coaches and then work on my mistakes and make everything a little better. This sport evolves every day and there’s a lot of tough competition. As an athlete, I’ve got to try to stay ahead of the game.
MMARising.com: Some fans were critical of your style in your early UFC bouts and felt that you didn’t do enough to try to finish fights, but you have clearly taken the initiative to improve upon all areas of your game and that has been evident in your recent bouts. Is it more important to you to put on exciting fights for the fans or to walk away as the victor?
Gray: At the end of the day, you want the fights to be exciting, but you also have to be responsible to yourself and do what you need to do to win. Early in my career, I don’t think that I had the tools to finish a lot of fights. It takes time to learn and perfect your craft. As you start climbing the ladder and going up against tougher competition, it gets even harder to finish fights.
That is especially true if it’s a three rounder. Finishing the fight is always a goal, of course, but you can’t get wrapped up in that mindset. Just keep to the game plan and it should happen. If not, just get the win.
MMARising.com: In your fight with Jim Miller, particularly, Miller looked to be at a complete loss when you used your wrestling to keep the fight standing for much of the duration. He is an extremely talented submission fighter, but you prevented him from doing anything at all and picked up a lopsided decision win in the process by showcasing improved striking. How much of this would you attribute to your training and coaches and how much is solely your decision in the fight?
Gray: I’ve been training with Gil Martinez at Las Vegas Elite Boxing for about a year and a half. When it comes to striking, I owe him everything. Like I said before, it doesn’t happen overnight and it’s still a work in progress. That was the game plan, though, to let my hands go and keep off the bottom.
MMARising.com: As you remain undefeated and have scored victories over many of the other top challengers in the lightweight division, most see you as just one impressive win away from a title shot. Would you agree that that is an accurate representation of your standing in the UFC?
Gray: Right now, I’m just focused on Roger Huerta. It’s up to the UFC, but as long as I keep winning and improving, it will come. Until then, I’m just concentrating on improving and taking it one fight at a time.
MMARising.com: As you mentioned, you will have a chance to pick up a big victory in your next fight when you take on the returning Roger Huerta. What are your thoughts on that fight and how do you see it playing out?
Gray: Roger is a really good opponent with a big name. He has a lot of heart and pushes the pace. I’m thankful for the opportunity to fight him. I’ve had a great training camp and I’ll be ready for September 16th.
MMARising.com: Huerta is known for his exciting, action-packed fights, and will surely do everything that he can to test you. If the fight goes the distance, do you foresee any problems with keeping up the frenetic pace that is typical of Huerta’s fights or will you be looking for an early knockout?
Gray: I’ve had a great camp and I knew that I needed to be prepared for a very tough opponent. I don’t like to predict fights, I just fight.
MMARising.com: If you are able to get past Huerta and BJ Penn successfully defends his title against Diego Sanchez, would you hesitate to fight Penn, a friend, or would it be all about the title for you?
Gray: Right now, I’ve got my mind set on Huerta alone. We will see how everything plays out. Of course I would fight BJ for a title if I get the opportunity. That’s what everyone works for their whole life.