The following events in this thread occur on May 21st, 2020 so no references or statements should be made on social media regarding this event until May 21st, 2020 . Due to COVID-19 the press conference will be held via ZOOM.
Video press conference hosted by ZOOM
On the GCC's new direction
''I love that I have been able to bring more media friends on board with us. Jocelyn, Brice, Sean and now White are all great assets to the GCC and all bring something unique to the table. More importantly, their work continues to bring the fighters and their fans closer together. Anyone can go to a local bar if they want to see a fight, the GCC is much more than that.''
On the GCC 8: Nation vs Ibanez numbers
''We earned about 135k new subscribers for that event which definitely ranks up there as one of the more successful events. We are more than satisfied with the draw. I am sure Aleksandr Baranov and company will feel malcontent with the fact their pre fight antics did not break any records but I hope it does teach them a valuable lesson moving forward.''
On getting deal done with Misty DeMeans
''Misty has been very public with what she was demanding from us which made the negotiations much more difficult. Based on my discussions with her and her team this isn't exactly over. We tried to be fair and as diplomatic as possible but had to remain grounded in reality. While Misty will see an increase in pay for her next fight it will be no-where near the 3 million price tag she was asking for. At the end of the day I know Misty is a fighter and she wants to be in the cage doing this for the rest of her prime.''
On the fans returning to arenas
''We are monitoring the situation with COVID-19 on a daily basis and trying to figure out a way that we can get the fans back into arenas safely. We are grounded in reality and so we don't get the luxury of ignoring the virus or pretending like it just doesn't exist so that we can carry on with the way we were doing things irresponsibly. I feel like we will be able to have the fans safely return to our arenas in due time.'
On Vishis Vourture
''The guy is an absolute killer in this division. I think Manu has surprised a lot of people with how he's performed but I truly think he has met his match in Vishis.''
On teammates fighting each other
''It's not something you will get to see often. We generally hold the belief that camp mates should only fight in situations that are unavoidable and we leave it up to both fighters and their camps on whether or not they are comfortable with us booking the fight. Title defenses are always an exception as we expect our champions to defend their title against who we deem to be the number one contenders in their respective divisions.''
On Gaia Galanos vs. Alexia Amauri
''You have to favor Gaia Galanos here. She's been up against tested opponents since day one and was the former GCC featherweight champion. Seeing as she just lost her championship, I know she is as driven and as hungry for a win as ever. As for Alexia, she's extremely focused and knows what a win over Gaia will do for her career in the GCC. You can't help but feel no matter the outcome of this fight the experience alone she will develop from this fight will help her navigate through the rest of the division.''
House of Khan's Galanos Primed to Fight
Abu-Dhabi—Another Zoom meeting for a press conference as the world moves slowly closer to finding a solution to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the meantime, Global Combat Championships has ensured the safety of its staff, fighters, and fans by holding empty arena events and constantly testing the fighters and anyone else who may need to come in contact with the fighters. It seems as though the Corona Virus scare has thinned out the showing for the Zoom meeting oddly enough, but sure enough Gaia Galanos was there. Galanos looked in amazing shape as usual.
On what this fight against Alexia Amauri means to her:
“This is a way for me to recover from my title loss to Misty DeMeans while taking on a similar striker to Misty. Alexia has a trick up her sleeve that Misty doesn’t have though: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. That means Amauri can handle herself on the ground. If Misty ended up on the ground, she would just be a sitting duck.”
On how Alexia and Gaia trained knowing they would be facing off against one another despite being fighters in the same gym:
“I just wanted to fight again so I made my challenge. Mr. Khan didn’t pick Alexia. She picked herself when she accepted my challenge. What I really appreciate about another House of Khan fighter taking my challenge is I know Alexia Amauri is going to bust her ass to get ready for this fight. Slouches don’t belong in the main event after all.”
On her strategy against Alexia Amauri:
“I have been watching film on Alexia, I’ve seen her fight in person, and I’ve even sparred with her a bit. She is one of the best strikers in GCC, and she’s great at Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. My plan is to get her on the ground and keep her there until I can put her lights out.”
On how confident she is against Amauri:
“I feel good headed into this fight, but a fighter should feel good headed into a fight. Otherwise, there may be some big, big problems during the fight.”
On Misty DeMeans’ comments about Gaia’s social media activity:
“Misty DeMeans is nothing more than scrub of a champion. She believes that Twitter carries a fight’s buildup apparently. That shows just how stupid she is; just like the belief that she’ll be fighting Big Mama in December. Someone needs to just pull her idiotic ass aside and explain real life to her… I wouldn’t expect her to understand even if it’s explained verrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyy sloooooooooooowllllllyyyyyyyyy.”
On how she feels being on the outside, looking in as Misty DeMeans will defend against Jessica House at some point:
“I have no issue with House getting her chance. I lost my title. That doesn’t mean I get some sort of return fight just because of who I am and what I’ve done. With that said, I will be Misty DeMeans biggest fan once she finally gets her lazy ass back into the octagon because I don’t want anyone else taking that unbeaten streak away from her. Regardless of that, I wish good luck to both women, and I look forward to seeing them both beat the hell out of one another.”
Galanos went on to explain that she is on the hunt for a second GCC Featherweight title run, and that a win against Alexia Amauri would help lead her to that. After she was finished, Galanos muted the microphone on her laptop and listened to the rest of the press conference I can only assume in case another question came her way.
Alexia Amauri versus Gaia Galanos is going to be a thinking man’s fight, I can’t wait.