Sean Alexander | 12:57 PM 16 September, 2020
Recently, I was able to sit down—over video chat of course—with former featherweight champion Gaia Galanos. After a two match skid, Galanos was able to get back on the winning track via an impressive first round rear naked choke submission of rising featherweight star Mia Stevens. While Gaia won’t be looking forward to any title shots any time soon, it’s safe to say that the fans are eager to find out how soon they may see her back in the octagon. Despite her 2 losses to the current champion and one of her prospective contenders, Galanos continues to be the fighter that fans must see. The wrestling standout is always a pleasure to speak to in-person.
On her experience at Tundra MMA since joining:
“Needless to say, I haven’t fought yet, but even before that ever happens, I can tell Tundra is something special. While Aleksandr and I have had our differences in the past, he is a very savvy businessman, and he understands what it takes to train for a fight. There’s a reason Tundra is ascending through the gym rankings as fast as it is. That’s no coincidence.”
On when she plans on returning to the octagon:
“I’m always ready to walk through the cage door again. I’ll return as soon as I find a suitable fight.”
On Atara Themis’ challenge:
“This was a hot topic just a couple weeks ago. I’m not saying I don’t want to fight Atara. Quite the opposite, I do want to fight Atara, but I want it to mean something when we do fight. She’s since signed a contract for a fight I think would be the perfect thing for her to bounce back from that KO. Both her and Nika could use a bounce back. They both have their chance.”
On her experience at House of Khan knowing she would be leaving:
“Mr. Khan is a class act. I have goals in my MMA career, and he understands that. House of Khan is one of the very best gyms, and my view of that hasn’t changed since joining Tundra. Alexia Amauri is one win away from fighting Misty DeMeans for the featherweight title. House of Khan boasts title reigns including my own, but I knew it was my time to start moving on. Aside from Rupika, I haven’t had much pushback.”
On Rupika Khan calling her out over social media:
“Yeah, Rupika’s good at that. She’ll type, type, type, snap a selfie, then type some more. What she won’t do is say something to someone’s face. There’s a reason she was so upset with me when I first joined House of Khan. I would be working my ass off in training while she would be standing in the corner sending out tweets and going live on Facebook. It eats her up inside that I championed for her own family’s gym. Now she wants to step up. Well, why doesn’t she just do it?”
On if she would sign to fight Rupika:
“I absolutely would sign a fight against Rupika. I know Mr. Khan has shown concern for her during her fighting career, but she’s a big girl. She’s shown that she can hang with some of the tougher competition. She took a fight to Misty. There was a time when I would say we were friends. Unfortunately, Rupika stabs people in the back when she doesn’t get her way. Plan and simple: Rupika needs her ass beaten again.”