The following events in this thread occur on Friday, February 14th 2020 so no references or statements should be made on social media regarding this event until February 14th, 2020.
The GCC President Fazan Khan steps out from behind the curtain to a thunderous applause from the media and spectators that have gathered for the press conference event. The respect Mr. Khan was receiving through his efforts to bring high level MMA on an international scale was plentiful.
The way he walked, talked and handled himself was unlike many other promoters before him. Typically it was the flashy dressed, loose tongued wordsmiths or ego driven capitalists who made for some of the best or most memorable promoters but here was Mr. Khan, an older, kind hearted soul and family man who ran his company more like a passion project before anything else.
Yet, even he wasn't above criticisms.
Khan, it seems that more and more the GCC finds themselves in public disputes with fans and supporters of rival promotions on twitter which has caused quite the stir. What are your thoughts on these recent attacks? Mr. Khan: To that my friend, I'd offer you a quote from Mahatma Ghandi. "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win”; I feel they've ignored us, they've laughed at us and now they are starting to fight. That is all I am willing to say about this subject at this time. Juanita Sanchez is stepping back in the cage since her loss against Gaia Galanos where she was unsuccessful in her featherweight title bid and Sophie Anderson is coming off a brutal TKO loss to Trixie Redd, where would you say the winner of this fight stacks up to the rest of the division after Saturday Night? Mr. Khan: That's a great question. The featherweight division is in a great place right now where we have several contenders in the reigns. Krystal, Misty, Renegade Kali, Jessica House are just some of the names come to mind. A win for either women here would certainly put them back in the mix but not in line for a title shot at this juncture. We will see what happens on Saturday.
Sir Khan, for the first time ever the GCC is holding an all female main card. How do you feel about this achievement and what made you decide to go this route on March 7th?
Mr. Khan: Great question my friend, simple answer. I wanted to put on the best fights possible. With the addition of the female bantamweights the card just sort of figured itself out. Krystal and Misty had to have their fight rescheduled due to what happened on the media tour and Rupika and Anaquin Adams had verbally agreed to their bout a few months back for this date. So, it all just came together. It isn't a gimmick or a marketing ploy, it just works. It's no secret that there's a few fights on that Sweden card that could very well be separate main events but we're giving them to you all on one night. We hope you enjoy it!
Rumor has it you are planning a huge event in Russia, is there any truth to this? Mr. Khan: Yes, we have quite a following in Russia with a few exciting Russian prospects in GCC. Right now we are just trying to work out the time and place and finding the right set of fights to market the card on. We hope we can make an official announcement on the deal by the end of March. What type of threat do you think Tommy Ward or Alejandro presents to the current GCC heavyweight champion, Erik Malkasian? Mr. Khan: Well with Tommy, his biggest advantage is that he's been in there with the champ once already. Speaking with him and his team they feel that they had already beat Erik Malkasian the first time out and that the scorecards fell the wrong way. The chip on a fighters shoulder after having to walk away with the perception or idea that they had just been robbed of something they deserved or earned typically makes them fight even harder.
And Alejandro Rivera? Mr. Khan: You're looking at a classic striker vs. grappling match up. While history shows that a fight will typically go to the grappler this is a five round fight and each round starts standing. The chances that Erik Malkasian gets caught with something is higher than ever because that's just the sort of striker Alejandro Rivera is.
Mr. Khan smiles proudly and respectfully nudges both Tommy Ward and Alejandro Rivera as if they were his sons. With that, he gives the fighters the rest of the floor.
Who will step up and make the most of this moment?
Juanita and Tommy are having a conversation, when a reporter suddenly calls Juanita's name. Juanita looks up quickly, scanning the room for the source of the voice.
She spots a tall, dark-haired, middle-aged woman looking spiffy in a business suit, smiling at her from the center of the room. Juanita smiles back with uncertainty on her face.
She's gotten better at these press conferences. Her teammates told her she would, so she continues to attend the events. She hardly listens to the question, but catches the jist of it.
"I don't let the past dictate my future, so the answer has to be no, not capturing the featherweight title, won't dictate my fight with Sophie Anderson."
A brief instance of shock flashes over Juanita's face. She did not mean to answer the question like that, but could not apologize, because another question was already coming her way.
"We know that Fazan Khan said your fight with Sophie will not have title implications. Do you feel that you are close to earning another title shot with a few more wins?"
Juanita bites her lip. She wants to say yes to the question, but honestly doesn't know. Gaia Galanos is a great champion, and the featherweight division is deep.
"I'm not sure at this moment. This fight with Sophie will only be my fifth professional fight. I'm only 20 years old, so I have plenty of time. I'll keep fighting, and I'm hopeful that I'll earn a title shot again."
Juanita looks around the room again. She can feel a smile creeping on her face and knows it looks sheepish. It always happens to her when she gets embarrassed or nervous.
"Juanita, how do you feel about facing a striker like Sophie Anderson? She's been known to be a little aggressive, after the bell, such as the time she lost her bonus against Kali Black."
Juanita shrugs her shoulders. She hasn't really thought about that. Juanita's game plan is to get Sophie to the ground and beat her up.
"Anybody can make a mistake in the heat of the moment. Sophie is a great striker, and I won't tarnish her name by talking about that incident. I don't think she would do it to me."
Juanita smiles sheepishly as she looks around the room again. Noticing no more questions she thanks everybody then follows Tommy Ward out of the room.
"Tommy Ward, do you feel that Mr. Khan's assessment is true? Do you have a chip on your shoulder?"
"I guess you can say that." Tommy admits. "I did and still to this day, feel I was up going into that fifth round. I felt devastated when I heard those score cards."
"A lot of people say that you should have received an immediate rematch, do you feel the same?"
"No." Tommy says with conviction. "Alejandro is a great fighter, and it would have been disrespectful to him, if he we're past up so I can get a rematch."
"How do you feel fighting a striker like Alejandra Rivera?"
Tommy raises his eyebrows at the question.
"El Pantera is a great striker, but I'm great at Jiu-Jitsu. While I'm nervous about Alejandro's striking, I think he's nervous about my ground game."
"Tommy, Mr. Khan just made mention of every round starting on the feet. Are you worried that Alejandro can get a quick knockout?"
"He's a powerful striker, that's a definite possibility, but I have fought powerful strikers before, if you recall my GCC debut was against JaySon Francis, and he's a world class striker in his own right."
Tommy looks around the room for more questions, and notices one more.
"If you beat Rivera, you'll cement yourself as a true contender. That's a quote from you back in Union Grand Prix. Do you still feel that way?"
Tommy takes a long moment to answer.
"Yes and no. It's an honor to fight Alejandra, just like it was an honor to fight Brock Quarry. They were, in my opinion, the two best heavyweights Union had at the time. So no because I feel I've already cemented myself as a contender, but yes because I would have beaten the two greatest heavyweights Union had."
After answering the question, Tommy looks around the room, but with no more questions he lays down his microphone.