Why 'Decisionator Ryan LaFlare' nearly broke down in tears at UFC 208

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Ryan LaFlare’s father had never attended one of his MMA fights because “no one wants to see their kid get punched in the face,” he said. But for UFC 208 in New York? LaFlare’s old man made an exception.

And that, according to LaFlare (12-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC), is why Saturday’s event in Brooklyn – as well as his unanimous-decision win over veteran welterweight Roan Carneiro (21-10 MMA, 4-4 UFC) – was such an emotional one.

As LaFlare made his way to the cage inside Barclays Center for the UFC Fight Pass-streamed curtain-jerker to Saturday’s pay-per-view event, the first person he saw was his dad, the man who attended all of his wrestling meets and lacrosse games and other sports ventures as a kid.

It was hard to control his feelings.

“My bad dad knows how much that I dedicate my life to (MMA),” said LaFlare, who was part of the recent efforts to get New York’s longtime ban on MMA lifted. “He knows this is how I support my family, and he was like, ‘I’ve got to be there.'”

LaFlare got the win in large part because of the pressure and a stiff left hand he liberally applied to Carneiro. And though the 33-year-old New Yorker is 2-0 since his only career loss – to former UFC title challenger Demian Maia – he’s now gone to a decision in his past six wins.

“It was a very emotional night for me,” said LaFlare, who fought back tears during his post-fight in-cage interview. “As you can see, I fought a little tentatively. I wanted to make sure I secured the victory. And everyone says ‘the Decisionator Ryan LaFlare’ and I can’t finish fights.

“Trust me: I wanted to finish the fight, and I let my emotions get a ahold of me. As you can see, after the fight, I almost broke down a little bit. But I’m just happy I got the win.”

Check out the full interview above.

For more on UFC 208, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.