ONE ON ONE FT. PAIGE HOLLOWAY

[We open to an interview table, in the middle of an otherwise pretty empty studio; the only decorations of any kind are a couple banners and posters for the upcoming UGP 49–and sat at the desk, alongside Isaac Cohen, is one of the faces on the poster, the former Lightweight Champion, Paige Holloway. Both Isaac and Paige smile at the camera before the interview gets going.]

ISAAC COHEN: “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another edition of Union Grand Prix’s One on One series! My name is Isaac Cohen, and I’m joined at this time by the former Union GP Lightweight Champion, Paige Holloway, who challenges 2Face Rodriguez in an attempt to regain that title this weekend! Paige, welcome, thank you for the time.”

PAIGE HOLLOWAY: “Yea, of course.”

ISAAC COHEN: “Obviously, this being a rematch, it begs the question about the last time you fought 2Face, in what was…you’ve said yourself, an impressive performance on his part, to claim the title in the first place, but you’ve obviously had a chance to go over your own performance, how are you feeling going into this rematch?”

PAIGE HOLLOWAY: “Yea, obviously that wasn’t the performance I wanted to put on; but, as I’ve said, I’m not afraid to give credit where it’s due, 2Face had a good strategy, and he executed on it. I could wrap myself up in how bad of a night that was for me, or I could buckle down and prepare for the next one–I chose to do the second one, and it got me back in contention pretty quick.”

ISAAC COHEN: “And you did it with a fairly dominant knockout finish of Abbie Peterson, who I know you were very complimentary of ahead of that fight–but I think it would’ve been hard pressed to deny you the rematch, given that victory.”

PAIGE HOLLOWAY: “That was the goal, yea; obviously, I have nothing against Abbie, just that…y’know, she was in my way that night. I let myself down against 2Face, and I had to do what I had to do to get back there–I said before that fight, I didn’t want to leave any doubt who was next.”

ISAAC COHEN: “That actually raised an interesting…I guess, conundrum for Union Grand Prix and Dante Reed, as 2Face had been pretty dismissive of giving you a rematch after he won the title–what’s your take on all that?”

[Paige laughs a little bit, shaking her head as she mulls over her thoughts…then just flicks a wrist dismissively.]

PAIGE HOLLOWAY: “I get that his little hold out was a contract thing, he’s…he’s convinced himself that he’s untouchable and he can dictate whatever he wants, but…that’s not really the way it works, the sport moves on with or without you. If he wanted to say no, hold out for a different contender, I woulda just been the next one to be interim champion while he sat on the sidelines and watched. What he wanted, what he said yes or no to, honestly? That didn’t really…mean anything to me, I was gonna fight for a title next, one way or the other–whether it was against him, or against…whoever, Sadie, Regis, whoever they threw me in there with. It happened to be that he got the hell over it, so…rather than wasting all our time with another interim title, we can just get to the real deal.”

ISAAC COHEN: “This being a rematch, do you feel any…I guess, extra pressure? You talked about feeling like you let yourself down the first time around, do you feel any extra motivation to…right that wrong, so to speak?”

PAIGE HOLLOWAY: “I don’t know that I’d call it extra motivation. I’ve proven I can become a champion in Union, now it’s a matter of getting it back. But…y’know, I’ve talked in the past, I don’t put a lot of thought into previous fights anymore, I don’t put a lot of stock in momentum or whatever. Every fight’s a different fight, something different can happen literally every single time you step out in the cage. Yea, obviously I’m not happy with the way that first fight went, but…that’s about as far as that thought goes. I watched that fight back to get an idea of what I need to prepare for, but it’s not some big chip on my shoulder that I have to be better than this person or that person. I want to get the title back because I think I’m the best Lightweight fighter in the world right now, including 2Face, and…one bad night doesn’t change that.”

ISAAC COHEN: “I did want to touch on something about that first fight, that…kinda rubbed Kayla and I the wrong way, I’m just curious to get your take on it: all of 2Face’s…let’s call them ‘antics,’ after the fight–in terms of getting in the doctor’s way as they were checking on you and such, did any of that…change your opinion on him, as a fighter or anything?”

[Paige shrugs her shoulders a little bit, shaking her head.]

PAIGE HOLLOWAY: “As a fighter, no; he had a good night, he did what he had to do to get the job done, that’s…that’s about as much as I’m willing to say. He’s far from untouchable, and that fight showed me what I need to work on to get that belt back. I’ll give him credit, he’s been able to make that gameplan work against everyone so far, but…all it takes is one good shot to put even the toughest fighters down, and I see quite a few holes that allow for those shots. I just have to find the right opportunity.”

[Paige pauses for a moment, clicking her tongue.]

PAIGE HOLLOWAY: “As far as all the…what’d you call them, the ‘antics’ after the fight…honestly, I wasn’t thinking about him or anything he was doing at the time. It looked goofy on the replay, in my opinion, but…it doesn’t bother me. But it’s been my experience that the people who do all that, usually can’t take it, so…I’ll be curious to see how he reacts when someone does it to him. But I’m not looking for…revenge, or whatever, for him being an obnoxious twat, I’m looking to put myself back on top where I think I belong. That’s…that’s really the long and short of it, what 2Face does and who he is, that…doesn’t mean a whole lot to me. It doesn’t…push me to want to beat him any more than I already want to, it doesn’t motivate me to shut him up or whatever. As I say, my motivation for this fight is simple: I want the Lightweight Championship back. To do that, I gotta get revenge for my only loss in Union so far–that’s the long and short of it.”

ISAAC COHEN: “Fair enough.”

[Isaac nods and turns to look at the camera and close out the interview.]

ISAAC COHEN: “Ladies and gentlemen, be sure to tune in to Union GP 49 this weekend, we have an absolutely outstanding card for you, with huge implications in the 155 pound division in particular, and for our guest here specifically–Paige, best of luck this weekend. I know I’m looking forward to it.”

PAIGE HOLLOWAY: “Thank you so much.”

[And with that, the video cuts.]