The following events in this thread occur on April 2nd, 2020 so no references or statements should be made on social media regarding this event until April 2nd, 2020. Due to COVID-19 the press conference will be held via Telephone.
[Operator] Good day everyone and welcome to the GCC conference call! Today call is being recorded as it's time for opening remarks and introductions, I'd like to turn the call over to GCC President, Fazan Khan.
Mr. Khan: Thank you and welcome everyone to our media day conference call for GCC 7: Galanos vs. DeMeans! For the first time ever, the GCC will be holding a live event with no fans in attendance in respect to our fans and fighters health and well being. Today, we are joined by both Gaia Galanos and Misty DeMeans who will issue their statements shortly as well, we will being hearing from several other fighters scheduled to compete.
Before we begin, I just want to take the time to thank all of our wonderful fans for your continued support. Our last event, GFN 7 was a hit as we drew the highest amount of subscribers for a single show as Alejandro River cemented himself as a global star. We drew 200, 000 new subscribers for that show which has set a new record.
Furthermore, we've made some huge signings and MMA gyms around the world have looked to GCC to give their fighters a global platform. Our reach is becoming bigger than MMA, evidenced by the multitude of cross over stars who have entered the GCC Octagon... Anaquin Adams, Jay Aguero and most notably Atara Themis who will be making her debut on our under card Saturday Night.
With the recent success of GFN 7, we project that GCC 7 will raise the bar yet again and shatter our previous record as two very important figures in Women's MMA face off in the Main Event with a combined 10-0 professional record for the GCC featherweight championship!
I won't take up too much of your time, I know both Gaia Galanos and Misty DeMeans have plenty they want to say to each other and you guys probably have a mother load of questions for the both of them so I'll leave the floor to my friends in the media to pose the first question...
[WHO STEPS UP FIRST?]
GCC 7 Phone Press Conference soundbytes
Atara Themis
''It's a real honor to be apart of the GCC and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to prove what I can do inside the cage. I hope Lyla Nitro brings her best, I hope she's ready to put on a show, but mostly I hope she's ready for another L on that record.''
Mia Stevens
"I think I'm ready for Brooklyn, since I was supposed to fight her in my debut, but that fight was unfortunately called off and I was put up against Layla Nitro, which made me underprepared for that fight. So in all honesty, I've had almost two whole training camps to prepare for this fight."
Jessica House
''I think that we are similar type fighter we both like to throw heavy hands, we look for the Knockout. She has had more success then me with that but still I think that she hasn't faced someone like me who has a tough chin and is willing to take a shot to throw a shot. I think I can force her beyond round 1 and because of that I think my experience will see me to a victory.
I also just want to say, I hope everyone stays safe given this insane time right now. I mean it's scary in the world right now and we need to just focus on getting through it.''
Gaia Galanos
''Misty likes to mess with people headed into a fight. Well, now is the time for her shut everyone up and win a title, but I don’t care about the story she has in her head. She won’t be shutting everyone up with my title. Misty can go drop some weight and try for the Bantam. Maybe her and Feloni could share that title somehow. At GCC 7, a silent stadium is the perfect place for Misty to realize she came up empty in my Featherweight Division. Tough luck, bitch.”
GCC Champion Galanos
Video Press Conference Quotes
Gaia Galanos was present in the conference call during all of Misty DeMeans’ questions and answers. Her feed remained on ‘mute’ through all of it. There were times when Galanos would shake her head with what seemed to possibly be annoyance with Misty. That isn’t uncommon for the undefeated Knockout Artist though.
When the questions inevitably began coming Gaia’s way, she answered each in a pretty calm demeanor. Galanos generally seems to keep somewhat of a poker face during press conferences anyway. This press conference, video chat or not, was no different in that regard. Here are a few quotes from Gaia on a few topics she was asked to speak on.
On Training During the COVID-19 Outbreak:
On GCC 7 Being Presented From an Empty Arena:
On The State of the Featherweight Division:
On Her Strategy Headed into the Fight:
On Misty DeMeans’ Chances Against Her:
To those familiar with the professional wrestling world, to the XWF Universe in particular, the next voice to sound through speakers was the dulcet husk of Atara Themiss.
Atara: Hello Doves.
Spoken with all the charm her XWF persona was known for, the floor was proverbially now hers.
Q: Atara! I absolutely adore your work in the professional wrestling world, but history as shown the transition into MMA doesn't always fair in the professional wrassler's favor. Making your debut tomorrow night, do you think you'll have better luck.
Themis: Dance well or quit the ballroom, dove. An old proverb of Greece, if I had any doubts about my ability inside the cage I wouldn't be here. I'm sure I wouldn't have been signed nor would the expectations already be set so high for my career moving forward.
I've trained with and been around Pankration champions since before I could I walk, the birth mother of this sport as you see it now. Themis Palaestra has been training students for years. I'm one of those students. I've wrestled competitively and just because I've been off playing pretend fight for the last few years doesn't mean I'm some hack who thinks they can do it for real. I can do it for real and you'll find out tomorrow.
Wrestling is in my blood. This isn't a 'prove I can do it' type thing. This is a I'm here to compete for titles and wreck this division type thing. Unlike the rest of these women, I come with a fan base already. My professional wrestling career isn't a bane but a boon. Subscribers, tickets, merch, put my face on it. It sells. Magazine's, TV, doesn't matter the medium.
I'm the most viewed member of the XWF roster since I signed five months ago and after tomorrow when I beat Lyla Nitro any doubt you guys have will be buried and these BS prelim undercard fights won't happen again. You guys want a show. I'm going to give you a show. You want fight of the night performances, I'm your girl. I'm about to make everybody a little bit richer and all these other girls a little bit more sore.
Q: Any comments on Lyla?
Themis: Yeah. I'm sorry, Dove. Everybody plays a supporting role at some point.
Oh and one last thing....Hi Misty.
[Operator] Thank you Misty. Before we proceed with any additional questioning, I have been informed that Mr. Khan's head of security and nephew, Shazir Khan would like to make a statement about his fight against Shinjiro Nakama.
Shazir Khan: THANK YOU! I JUST WANTED TO TAKE THE TIME TO REMIND YOU ALL SPECIFICALLY THE HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION IN THE GCC THAT WE DO NOT STAND FOR SUB PAR QUALITY IN THE GCC RANKINGS. MR KHAN FEELS THAT SHINJIRO NAKAMA IS MERELY SHOWING UP AT THIS POINT TO COLLECT A PAYCHEQUE ON GLOBALS DIME. WHILE I UNDERSTAND THE MAN NEEDS TO FEED HIS OFF SPRING THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER WAYS HE CAN MAKE MONEY THAT DOESN'T INVOLVE FIGHTING LIKE BAGGING GROCERIES OR WAITING ON TABLES!!!
[Shazir grunts]
Shazir Khan: HOWEVER, MY GRANDFATHER IS TOO NICE OF A MAN TO JUST FIRE NAKAMA SO AFTER WEEKS OF DISCUSSION WE ULTIMATELY DECIDED THAT HE WOULD FIGHT ME AND IF HE COULD BEAT ME THEN HE WAS WORTHY OF STICKING AROUND BUT IF NOT, HE WOULD BE CUT AND RELEASED FROM THE GCC AND NEVER BE INVITED TO FIGHT FOR OUR GREAT PROMOTION EVER AGAIN!!!!
[Shazir grunts]
Shazir Khan: I AM TAKING THE TIME TO LET NOT JUST SHINJIRO NAKAMA KNOW ABOUT THIS DEAL BUT THE REST OF THE HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION! IF YOU DON'T TRAIN, IF YOU DON'T WORK HARD AND IF YOU WASTE MY GRANDFATHERS TIME THEN I WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO DISPATCH YOU AND MAKE YOU HUMBLE! TO BE APART OF THIS ORGANIZATION IS AN HONOR AND IT'S ABOUT TIME EVERYONE STARTS TREATING IT THIS WAY!
[Shazir grunts]
Shazir Khan: AS FOR THE REST OF THIS EVENT, I WISH MY TEAMMATE GAIA GALANOS THE BEST OF LUCK TOMORROW NIGHT! WHILE GAIA MAYBE A WOMEN AND SHE MAY ONLY WEIGHT 145 POUNDS KNOW THAT IF I WAS A WOMEN TOO AND SHE WAS A LAZY FIGHTER LIKE NAKAMA, I'D SMASH SMASH AND HUMBLE HER TOO! BUT SHE IS NOT. SHE IS A GREAT FIGHTER. SHE IS SOMEONE WE ALL SHOULD ASPIRE TO BE REGARDLESS OF GENDER OR WEIGHT CLASS. THANK YOU.
[Operator] Um, okay.... thank you, Shazir. I'm sure we ALL heard that.
It's no surprise that the first line of questioning goes to Misty DeMeans.
MMA Underground | Jett Weekly
Misty, with the announcement of major professional sporting leagues going on hiatus due to the spread of the coronavirus at any point did you feel that this fight with Gaia Galanos wasn't going to happen?
Misty DeMeans | GOAT
Oh yeah for sure man. Real talk, it wasnt so much about the virus but more my shitty luck. It seems like when everything is going great something beyond my control gets in away and fucks everything up. This virus just seemed to be another one of those things, you feel me? Still, much respect to Mr. Khan for making sure the fight happened even if we ain't got a crowd here to see it.
MMA Underground | Jett Weekly
And to what degree has it affected your ability to prepare for this fight?
Misty DeMeans | GOAT
It hasn't. We had to make a few adjustments to how we do things at HILITE FC in Toronto, so we only fucking with essential personale right now. I had to shut down the girls striking classes and we closed our doors to the public but beyond that it's business as usual around here. I ain't afraid of the virus or anything, I'd rather catch that shit then an ass whooping from Galanos if you asking me to pick and choose between the two.
MMA WEEKLY | Max Harper
If I could just interject in here for a moment, Misty. I think you have proven to us all that you are deserving of a title shot against Gaia Galanos at this point but how do you think this fight will fair? Do you expect Gaia Galanos to stand and trade with you or will she look to her wrestling to grind you out?
Misty DeMeans | GOAT
I think she's dumb enough to trade with me a little bit but I think after she gets clipped a few times early she will revert to her wrestling. That's the thing with Gaia, her game is to use her wrestling in reverse so she can keep the fight on the feet where she feels most comfortable but that shit just isn't going to fly with me. I am on a whole different level then her, I am a far superior striker in every way imaginable. In fact, imma declare myself as the best striker in GCC to date just like I did over in Union GP when I slept five niggas by KO unscathed.
MMA WEEKLY | Max Harper
So with ELITE FC on the rise in the boxing world, is there any chance you will cross over? And how are you feeling about the recent rash of new MMA promotions to spring up in the last few weeks?
Misty DeMeans | GOAT
Shit man, I really ain't going to go that far out and make any claims like that if I start feelin' like boxing or ELITE FC is where my next challenge is then I think it's more possible now than it was three or four months ago, at least that's how I'm feelin' about the situation in my own head. In MMA, I feel that I am the best striker and right now I think GCC is where the glow is at so I am committed to makin' my legacy here as long as I am treated right and the money is right. Simple.
MMACORE | Jack Ross
As a student of the game Misty, I know guys like Kato and Nate have gone over footage from Gaia Galano's fights hundreds of times. What do you think of Gaia Galanos as a fighter and how do you think she stacks up to your former opponents?
Misty DeMeans | GOAT
Well for one, she's a champ. I ain't out here trying to give Bjay Williams more material but if you looking at all my previous opponents, I've never beaten anyone worth that type of shit. The fighters I beat had a little hype around them and were backed by some big fight camps but nobody ever called them the divisions best at the time. Hell, some of them may have become champions after they took the L's I gave them but you know how that shit works, little fish, shallow ponds. Gaia? She's done somethin', she's a fighters fighter. Ya'll don't get my words twisted, I just feel that I am far better than her.
MMACORE | Jack Ross
Will you go as far as to pick the round?
Misty DeMeans | GOAT
I'mma take her out by the third. You know she's thinking she can take me to a decision. She trains with Rupika Khan and based on those two interactions, Rupika is the little spoon. You know Gaia fucks that chick up in training on the daily so she watches my fight with her and think she's about to do something. She looks at Rupika and is like, if YOU made it five rounds with Misty, I can get it to the judges and beat her. That's what she's thinkin, I'm telling ya'll. She trying to play that MMA math but tomorrow night she's gonna find out the hard way that it don't add up.
FIGHT GOSSIP | Garret Haag
Misty, you're always so confident. Do you even consider the possibility that you might actually lose, then your not unbeatable like you've been rumored by some to be?
Misty DeMeans | GOAT
Listen bruh, I've been humbled a long time ago. See, I run with world champs. They're some of my best friends. Kato, Brock. Recently, Mila and Erik Malkasian even. Kato and Brock are two legends in this sport who rose to the top and both suffered defeats, both have been knocked down and knocked out. Through them, I realized that NONE of us are untouchable but you outta your goddamn mind if you think that vulnerability is going to dictate how I act, how I approach my fights or how I talk about myself or my opponents even that bitch Gaia Galanos. Fuck that shit! In my mind, I'm already the champ. In my mind, I've already won. I've seen this shit play out so many times in my own head that I'm feelin' like this entire shit is an elaborate simulation and I am just going through the motherfuckin motions right now. That's why i get loud, that's why I talk my shit because I am not some bitch who does her shit talkin AFTER the fight when the results are already in and you did what you were too scared to tell the world you were about to do.
That's the difference between me and fighters like Gaia Galanos, I'm not afraid to fail and fall on my sword.
SHERDOG | Tyler Durdan
Miss demeanor... as we all know by now, you've exchanged several heated tweets with TW Combat Sports leading up to this fight with Gaia Galanos and the head coach Jay Williams has criticized you for the fact that both of your wins have come via a doctor stoppage. Surely, you have to agree that he has a valid point. Right?
Misty DeMeans | GOAT
Fuck off, I'm sick of your bullshit talking points forreal. Ya'll act like bitches just start bleeding on their face like it's part of their monthly cycle or some shit. Nah, nigga. I did that shit. Unlike these weak ass motherfuckers out here, my punches do damage. They cut. You bleed. It ain't much more to it. And if I see a bitch bleeding, you damn right I am going to target that weak spot as much as I can throughout the fight. I am a finese striker sure, but also have the best speed, power and technique in the division and that adds up to me finishing fights. Ya'll really out here acting like I can't knock a bitches head off her shoulders clean. Check the records. 7-0, all finishes. Tell me you seen something like it, I'm waiting...
SHERDOG | Tyler Durdan
And how do you respond to the fans who have signed a petition for an investigation on your association with the doctors and claims that you maybe loading your gloves with illegal materials?
Misty DeMeans | GOAT
That sounds like those same niggas who said I used steriods when they were asked why they never landed a punch on me, it don't make any damn sense. I give ya'll my piss. Ya'll can check my gloves an extra time if you want to, it doesn't make any difference to me. At some point the haters are going to run out of excuses as fast as they can fabricate some new ones and then what? Asides from your tears what more are you niggas really gonna have left for me? Nothing, nothing at all.
SOCIAL MEDIA CORRESPONDENT | Vannah White
Hey Misty! I got the chance to meet you again during the filming of the Splat Network's episode of the road to the championship where you are the main feature which will air on the network after this press conference. Can you tell us how it was filming the episode and what we can expect to see when it airs tonight?
Misty DeMeans | GOAT
Shit, well I'm not trying to spoil anything for yall and fuck up those SPLAT ratings but I will say that it was a pretty dope feature by those cats over there and I respect them for giving me the time. Folks are going to see a different side of me then what ya'll get over the social media but chances are you ain't going to stop hating me any less which works out great for all of us.
SOCIAL MEDIA CORRESPONDENT | Vannah White
I can't wait! I just want to say despite our run ins in the past, I think you're a spectacular fighter and I wish you the best of luck tomorrow night.
Misty DeMeans | GOAT
Cool, I appreciate that shit. In closing, I just want to keep shit one hundred with ya'll! The fans ain't gonna be there on April 3rd and I don't give a fuck about that but I do hope ya'll make it through these crazy times alive so you can spend a long, healthy life watching me do what I do, making HISTORY and hating every moment of it. Enjoy your quarantine.