Despite UFC setback, N.L.'s Ryan Janes says he will fight again soon
His first-ever UFC fight was cancelled last Saturday
Nearly a week after his first UFC fight was cancelled, Newfoundlander Ryan Janes says fans hoping to see him in a UFC arena soon might be in luck.
Janes was due to fight Adam Hunter last Saturday in B.C. — his first-ever match in the Ultimate Fighting Championships — but the fight was cancelled at the last minute when Hunter was flagged for a potential doping violation.
- Ryan Janes won't fight as 1st Newfoundlander in UFC octagon Saturday night
- Ryan Janes' big fight: 'My mom won't watch it until afterwards'
It was a disappointing turn of events for Janes, who had been training for weeks to prepare for the event.
"After putting six weeks of hard training in, kind of putting my life on hold, for him to fail the test and take away a huge opportunity like this to be able to fight in front of my Vancouver fans out there … it was hard," said Janes.
After putting six weeks of hard training in … it was hard.- Ryan Janes
It was also frustrating, Janes said, because family and friends were planning to make the trip to see the fight.
"My girlfriend just arrived Friday and she was sitting down across from me and she was watching my face when I hung up," he said.
"She immediately had to kind of let all of our friends know, if you're going to come over from Victoria, you're going to want to think about not coming over because Ryan's not fighting now."
Hoping for another fight soon
It's been a 10-year process for Janes to reach the highest level of ultimate fighting, and the cancellation of the fight means that it will be a little longer until he can properly cement himself as a UFC fighter.
But Janes told CBC's St. John's Morning Show the wait until his next fight might not be so long after all.
"I have a four-fight contract with the UFC, so at the end of the day, UFC will honour that contract," he said.
Janes doesn't know for certain when the fight will be, but he's hoping it will be soon.
"I'm not really sure, but I'm hoping probably October maybe."
With files from the St. John's Morning Show