MMARising.com: With regards to Penn, Georges St. Pierre showed that the most effective way to defeat Penn is by outmuscling him and using wrestling to nullify his striking and submissions. Kenny Florian seemed to attempt to employ a similar tactic, but lacked the strength to pull it off. You, however, have the tools to duplicate St. Pierre’s success. Would a game plan of takedowns and ground and pound seem to be the best way for you to defeat Penn?
Gray: I think GSP did a great job in that fight. He definitely left a good blueprint of how to fight BJ. Again, I’m not going to get ahead of myself and start planning for how I would fight BJ Penn. He has Diego in front of him and I have Huerta. I’ll cross that bridge when it comes.
MMARising.com: Looking ahead, where do you see yourself one year from now and what are some goals that you would like to achieve along the way?
Gray: I really do concentrate on every day and what I need to do better that day. In college, I think I focused more on the outcomes and championships rather than the small details of day-to-day training, and it hurt me in the long run.
Like I said before, my main focus is to improve and be the best fighter I can be and let everything else work itself out. I’ve learned that the only things that I can control are myself and my preparation.
MMARising.com: If you had the opportunity to compete against a lightweight opponent who is not currently a member of the UFC roster, who would it be and why?
Gray: There are some very good fighters around the world. Eddie Alvarez, Shinya Aoki, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Gilbert Melendez and Joachim Hansen are just a few that come to mind. Hopefully, someday, they will come to the UFC, but everyone has their reasons for what they are doing. If it happens, great, but if not, I just fight the opponent that the UFC puts in front of me.
MMARising.com: Do you have any final thoughts or shout-outs to friends, family or sponsors?
Gray: I want to thank Everlast, Cage Fighter, Desert Volkswagen, Elite Boxing, Robert Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu, Xtreme Couture and all the friends, family and fans who support this sport!!
MMARising.com sincerely thanks Gray for his time for this interview and looks forward to his upcoming fight with the returning Roger “El Matador” Huerta.