The following events in this thread occur on Friday, January 31st, 2020 so no references or statements should be made on social media regarding this event until January 31st, 2020.
The press conference started twenty minutes earlier than usual. Due to the circumstances surrounding the event it was important for Mr. Khan to address the press gathered in Thailand to answer their questions in a more personal one-on-one type session before the fighters began to make their long awaited appearances.
He sat at the press conference table by himself with the GCC lightweight championship in front of him, a symbol of what was at stake on Saturday Night.
Mr. Khan: Hello friends, thank you for joining us today for our GCC 5 press conference which will feature a lightweight championship bout between the reigning champion Awut Somaskul and the challenger, Sergiy Revenko in the main event.
Mr. Khan... recently you announced that the GCC will be opening up a Women's bantamweight division! Congratulations. How do you think this division will stack up against the Women's featherweight division?
Mr. Khan: The women's featherweight division has been the GCC's most exciting and deepest division yet and we expect the women's bantamweight division and the fighters we bring into it to follow in their footsteps. I can't begin to describe how proud I am of these women who have taken female MMA on their shoulders in the way that they have and finally are being represented in a fair, equal and competitive way. To this day, some women are still required to fight against men in unregulated MMA fights and despite their success in doing so, they are doing so at a significant disadvantage every time they step into the cage.
Mr. Khan, will there will be any repercussions for Misty DeMeans and company? There has been wide spread speculation that her sister Feloni had brought alcohol on board of the tour bus which was listed as a prohibited substance on the tour bus.
Mr. Khan: Thank you for your concern. After the police investigation and subsequent internal review of the incident, we do not have any grounds to punish Misty DeMeans and Krystal Knight was found to have zero involvement. Her sister however, Feloni? We are strongly reconsidering her entry into the Women's bantamweight tournament and a final ruling will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
Sir cancelling a fight of such magnitude is sure to be a big blow to GCC numbers which have been on an upward trend. What sort of numbers do you expect for the event now that Somaskul and Revenko will have top billing on the card? Mr. Khan: There are some things in this sport you cannot control and the health and safety of our fighters are far more important to us then the numbers they bring in. Awut Somaskul is a global champion and Sergiy Revenko is a proven challenger and both of these men are going to put on one hell of a fight. We will worry about subscriber counts and merchandise sales after the event is over, put our heads together and figure out how we can do better next time. Do you have any time table on when the fight will be rescheduled? Mr. Khan: We're in daily communication with both Misty and Krystal. Luckily, neither fighter has sustained a serious injury that will require too much recovery time. We can expect to see both women back in a GCC cage sometime in March but I'll be sure to keep you guys updated on that as more information becomes available to us from our medical teams. What do you think of your main event? How do you think these two guys match up and what are your predictions for the fight? Mr. Khan: I know some people were surprised to hear Sergiy Revenko earned the shot but his performances have been nothing short of spectacular. As for Awut? I mean, who doesn't love this guy? He has a heart of a lion, a true fighters fighter. On paper, everyone who steps up against him is a bad match up but the time and effort he puts into his training, preparation and fight strategy has seen him overcome the odds time and time again and there's no such thing as a safe bet when he's involved. At the same time if there's anyone who has a chance on beating Awut, to finish him and take the GCC lightweight title it's this guy... it's Sergiy Revenko.
Before any other questions can be asked, Mr. Khan made a hand motion indicating that his appearance was over before moments before the fighters begun to make their way to towards their own seats at the press conference table.
What do YOU want to say?
JThe media members in attendance for GCC 5 were out in full today in Thailand. As usual several fighters did not show up for the press conference, but two fighters who did show up were Paul Rossi and Rob Jones and they had plenty to say. The burning question on everybody's mind in regards to Rob Jones has been if he will accept a fight with Misty DeMeans protege, Arturo Montana, so as predicted that was the first question asked of Jones when he sat down. At first Rob tried to blow off this question good-naturedly, however the media in attendance would continue with the subject, which visibly annoyed Jones. Here is Rob's quote from the press conference. "Look, I don't care anything about any feud with HILITE FC. We all know Misty DeMeans is a bitch and will do anything for publicity. So no I'm not accepting the fight at this time." Obviously, his answer didn't go over so well and the media began to question why he would turn down the fight. "No I'm not scared of the guy. I know he's a great Jiu-Jitsu player, but that's all he has. Maybe one day we'll fight, but I don't think me beating him up at this point in his career is beneficial for anybody. In all honesty, he hasn't crossed my mind. I have two things on my mind, the lightweight championship and Awut Somaskul." After this quote the media began questioning Fazan Khan about the Jones/Rogers bout being for the number one contender spot. Fazan, politely held up his hand to quiet the crowd, and signify he wasn't answering any more questions. So upon Rob being asked about his contender status, and his upcoming fight he had this to say. "Yeah I feel I'm a win or two away from a title shot. Who else is there for a contender right now besides myself and Sergiy. I've knocked out Cayden Redfield, and this Saturday I'll smack around, that bum over there, Jake Rogers." A few questions even found their way towards Paul Rossi. The majority of the questions were in regards to his predictions for upcoming T.W Combat Sports fights, and his training methods, but a question about upcoming opponents bought a response so classic it couldn't be ignored. "I'll fuck anybody up. I don't care if their name is indigo Greene, Dante Cortes, Angel Hughes, or whoever else you want to throw in front of me. I'll knock them all around. I'm not choosy." What made this comment so classic was the way he said it. He had a very nonchalant, almost bored sound to his voice, like he thought the whole press conference was stupid. . After watching the press conference, and listening to Paul and Rob speak, how could you not be excited about GCC 5 and what may come next