[When the camera starts rolling, there’s a…drastic difference between the two people we find on camera–on one hand, Isaac Cohen, dressed as professional as ever and looking like he’s already set and ready; on the other hand, a visibly drained but defiant Taylor Webb, seemingly in the middle of her weight cut and being interrupted. The former title challenger grits her teeth as she realizes she’s already live. Isaac straightens up, giving Taylor a moment to catch her breath before beginning.]
ISAAC COHEN: “Ladies and gentlemen, Isaac Cohen, backstage at theUnited Center, ahead of this weekend’s seventh anniversary show, Union GP 70; with me at this time, the number 4 ranked Bantamweight, who competes in a potential title eliminator this weekend against number 2 ranked Syn Saetang, Taylor Webb! And Taylor, thank you for the time, I know I caught you at a…less than ideal moment.”
TAYLOR WEBB: “Yeah, tell me about it…”
[Taylor laughs a little, but it’s not exactly a humorous laugh, while Isaac gives a nervous but appreciative smile to the Texan.]
ISAAC COHEN: “There’s no talking about this weekend without talking about the last time we saw you in a Union GP cage…”
[Taylor’s already forced smile twists into a sneer as Isaac even starts to encroach on the topic of her loss to Marissa Kane, her lips pursing a bit as her tongue clicks.]
ISAAC COHEN: “But, obviously, last time out, a close decision against Marissa Kane, but you ultimately came up just short of becoming the Bantamweight Champion.”
TAYLOR WEBB: “Yeah, and…I still have a lotta questions about that fight. I know there’s no way to talk about it without sounding bitter, so…whatever, if that’s how it sounds, that’s how it sounds, but I feel like she got a lotta leeway that they don’t give everybody, especially in that second round. If we’re being real, that fight woulda been stopped in most cases, she wasn’t defending very well, and…I dunno, I’ve seen refs here threaten to stop fights after fewer shots than she ate. But…whatever, it is what it is, they let her keep going and…things didn’t turn out the way I wanted. So now it’s time to get back on track–which is a damn shame for poor fuckin’ Syn, this weekend.”
[There’s more than just a note of discontent in Taylor’s voice, but she doesn’t voice any other complaint beyond the one that’s clearly still bothering her the most, a few months later.]
ISAAC COHEN: “Kayla and I were talking on commentary after that fight, I know there are still people that ask questions about your potential after your run in Ryujin, there were more than a few murmurs about you getting the title shot against Marissa, ranked number 6 at the time, but we both felt like that fight did a lot to shut those criticisms down; you not only took the fight to a Hall of Famer, but you had her in danger more than once in that fight. Do you still hear those questions, or do you think they’ve been silenced for good by now?”
TAYLOR WEBB: “There’s always gonna be idiots that don’t watch the fights. They just see…whatever, they see a name they don’t recognize, against a name they do, so obviously it’s a mismatch. All y’all were doing it, too–you kept tellin’ me to fuckin’ bow toward Bellevue over Marissa’s, what…third time, coming out of retirement? ‘Oh, Taylor’s gotta prove herself against Marissa,’ I was the only one who thought I could beat her, all y’all were stunned that I would even dare to put up a fight. So…yeah, I’m sure those people are still out there, I’m sure they’re still asking the same stupid questions, but I’ve never cared what the internet trolls have to say about my career. Let ‘em boo, let ‘em scream, let ‘em do…whatever makes them feel better, I could not care any damn less.”
ISAAC COHEN: “Strangely, after a loss, you actually find yourself moving up in the rankings, with Victoria Marshall’s move to Featherweight and a lot of the movement and change within the Bantamweight Division lately–you moved from 6 to 4, headed into this weekend; I know I said so a second ago, but do you see this fight as a chance to get back into title contention, maybe get a rematch with Marissa if you both win this weekend?”
TAYLOR WEBB: “Right now, that’s the whole goal. I got nothin’ more on my mind than smashing this poor girl this weekend, and getting up to the top of the division. I’ve never been one to just be content with being a part of any roster I’m on, I want to be the part, I want to be the one at the very fuckin’ top of it. But if I’m really honest? I don’t care who wins the main event. If it’s Serenity, good for her, I don’t mind making her a one-and-done champ like they got up at 155. If it’s Marissa…again, good for her, it ain’t really about revenge if we face off again, it’s about the belt. I don’t care who has it, who I’m fighting is a distant fuckin’ second place to what I’m fighting for. So, I don’t care who I gotta beat to get back in a title fight, but I want to get a second crack by the end of the year–if that means fighting on every fuckin’ card, against every-damn-body in this division? Fine.”
[Isaac takes a second to let Taylor come down from that little rant, as the Texan starts to get more and more…ramped up, the longer she talks. When she eventually seems to settle back down, though, he continues on.]
ISAAC COHEN: “Well, that quest begins this weekend, with Syn Saetang, number 2 ranked contender and someone whose career path has a truly wild trajectory–her first run in Union was more down than up, only managing a 2-5 record with losses to the likes of Lauren Moore, Lena Lyons, and Megan Reed…”
[Every name Isaac mentions makes Taylor scoff a little bit, shaking her head but not interrupting. Yet.]
ISAAC COHEN: “…but she took some time away from the sport, refocused herself under Throne MMA, and she’s come back to win 6 of her last 8.”
TAYLOR WEBB: “Yeah, she’s had a cute little comeback story, huh? It’s one of those feel good things, the plucky underdog comes back to prove her potential and all that. I know some people want to paint me with that brush, too, but there’s a pretty damn big difference between the people I fought and lost to…”
[Again, Taylor’s tone sours as she thinks about the Ryujin losses, especially.]
TAYLOR WEBB: “And the ones she did. Syn’s had a nice little run since she came back, until it came time to really take care of business. She can handle people like Hughes or Morgua’s useless ass, and a bunch’a folks who can’t win fights to save their lives, but when the lights shine a little brighter…well, how’d her fight Marshall go? There was no question who was winning that fight, long before Marshall choked her out–Syn mighta won round 1, but there was no question about the others, was there?”
[It’s a rhetorical question, and Isaac knows it, so he doesn’t even pretend to engage with Taylor, just letting her continue.]
TAYLOR WEBB: “Meanwhile…what happened the next month? Even you, who were one of the ones questioning if I could possibly be ready for a main event, least of all a main event against Marissa…well, did you see the difference between a fighter like her, and a fighter like me?”
Taylor wraps a hand around her own throat, her tongue rolling out of her mouth for a second.
TAYLOR WEBB: “The lights shine brighter on me, I step my fuckin’ game up–even people like you, that didn’t think I had a chance, were asking questions by the end of my challenge for the belt. The lights shine brighter on her, and she crumbles–and trust me, they can call this fight a prelim or whatever, the lights are gonna be on real fuckin’ bright this weekend. I don’t plan to leave any doubt in anyone’s mind, this weekend’s gonna be the beginning of the end of this little fairy tale run for Syn.”
ISAAC COHEN: “You say that, but her only losses since coming back are to Serenity Holmes, who’s challenging for the Bantamweight Championship this weekend, and the former Champion herself, Victoria Marshall–that’s hardly choking.”
TAYLOR WEBB: “Except when Marshall very literally choked her out, you mean?”
[Taylor grins a little too widely.]
ISAAC COHEN: “You know what I meant. Regardless, this fight, on paper, seems like a classic example of old-school MMA, striker vs grappler, don’t you think?”
TAYLOR WEBB: “Not really. I think it’s a fight between an MMA fighter…”
[Taylor gestures to herself briefly.]
TAYLOR WEBB: “…and a one-dimensional fighter. Yeah, Syn snatched Hughes’ neck that one time, but before and after that one random night, what’s she looked like on her back? A fish outta water. Her only hope in this fight–and I really, honestly believe this is the case–is to bull-rush in, get a clinch, and pray that I don’t take her down when she tries. Stick to range, and…I mean, I’ve fought bigger, stronger, better fighters than her on the feet, and every time I start to get the better of them, y’all act crazy surprised–and on the mat, let’s just be completely honest with ourselves. She don’t want no part of any kinda ground fight with someone like me. Marshall showed her that, and I’d wrestle circles around her–so imagine what happens if I get her on the mat? I’ll turn Syn’s face into fuckin’ hamburger meat, if she’s that stupid to try to fight me on the ground. So that really leaves clinching and hoping for a knockout shot, so…”
[Taylor clicks her tongue a bit.]
TAYLOR WEBB: “Good luck.”
ISAAC COHEN: “I mentioned earlier, this fight seems like a logical title eliminator–but say it doesn’t end up that way. You’re clearly someone with a goal in mind, more than just the fight this weekend, so if you get your hand raised this weekend…”
[“When,” Taylor mutters with a smirk, but doesn’t actually speak up enough to interrupt Isaac.]
ISAAC COHEN: “…and…for whatever reason, it’s not enough to earn you a title shot. What do you see coming, after this weekend?”
TAYLOR WEBB: “…I didn’t stutter earlier. If I have to beat every damn body in this division between now and December, I will. I’ll fight on the Boss Fight shows, I’ll fight two, three times a night if I have to. By the end of the year, I’m not only gonna be back in contention, but I’m gonna be Bantamweight Champion, I guaran-damn-tee it.”
ISAAC COHEN: “No need to ask for a prediction for this weekend, then, I guess, huh?”
TAYLOR WEBB: “TKO, second round. She’ll get squirrely in round one, she won’t engage like she normally does because she knows what’s gonna happen if she gets in close. And once she does finally move forward, I’ll put her on her ass and dribble her head off the mat for fifteen minutes or until the ref stops me.”
[Isaac looks…a little taken aback by Taylor’s confidence, and indeed, her whole prediction of how the fight’s gonna play out, not just the generic threat of a win by knockout or whatever. But he eventually manages to bring himself back to normal and laughs a little.]
ISAAC COHEN: “Well…alright. Taylor, thank you for the time, best of luck this weekend.”
[Taylor just taps two fingers to her eyebrow and gives a half-hearted salute to the camera before turning to leave the scene, and the video cuts.]