LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Jared Gordon[/autotag] can breathe a little easier knowing he won’t have to dwell too long on his latest misfortune.
Things haven’t been easy for the UFC lightweight veteran, who’s coming off a controversial decision loss to UFC star [autotag]Paddy Pimblett[/autotag] and most recently a no contest ruling after he was accidentally headbutted and knocked out by Bobby Green in April (the fight was ruled a no contest).
Gordon (19-6 MMA, 7-5 UFC) admits things haven’t been going well, and that’s been hurting him.
“I was lost for a little bit after Bobby,” Gordon said at UFC on ESPN 45 media day on Wednesday. “I was really depressed. I was down on myself. I was like, ‘None of this is worth it.’ I was having a pity party for like two weeks, but then I got this call. Everything happens for a reason. Everything aligns the way it’s supposed to align.”
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Gordon takes on veteran [autotag]Jim Miller[/autotag] on Saturday at UFC on ESPN 45, which takes place at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The card airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+.
Gordon wasn’t originally scheduled to be on the card, but he got the call to fill in for Ludovit Klein to take on Miller (35-17 MMA, 24-16 UFC) on short notice. This was the best thing that could’ve happened to Gordon at this point in time.
“After the last two, I was like, ‘What’s going on here? Why is this happening to me?,'” Gordon said. “And yeah, I was messaging my manager, ‘What’s next? What’s next?’ And he was like, ‘Oh, take a little time off and fight in October.’ I was like, ‘October? That’s like six months away.’ Then two days later he calls me and was like, ‘You want to fight in 17 days?’ So yeah, I was definitely itching to get back in there, and here I am.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.