ONE ON ONE FT. TAYLOR WEBB

[We open to a studio, with a giant backdrop of the UGP 74 poster. On one side of the poster, dressed as ever in a black suit and tie, is Union GP’s intrepid reporter, Isaac Cohen; on the other side of the poster, in a gray hoodie and jeans, is the challenger for the Bantamweight Championship this weekend and one of the main faces on the poster, Taylor Webb.]

ISAAC COHEN: “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another edition of Union Grand Prix’s One on One series, where we sit down with the fighters on our upcoming card to talk about anything and everything! This weekend, UGP 74, a massive three-title-fight card, headlined by a rematch from a little less than a year ago–last time, it was for the vacant Bantamweight Championship, and my guest was number six in the world; fast forward nine months, two TKO victories, and she enters her second title fight as the number one ranked Bantamweight in the world. She challenges Marissa Kane this weekend, please welcome Taylor Webb, everybody!”

[Taylor just lifts her head toward the camera in acknowledgement.]

ISAAC COHEN: “Taylor, thank you for joining me–this situation feels pretty similar to the last time you faced Marissa, no?”

[Taylor scoffs a little, shaking her head.]

TAYLOR WEBB: “Is this the part where we make a big deal about coming into her home country again?”

[The young Texan’s shoulders raise in a shrug as she stuffs her hands in her hoodie pocket.]

TAYLOR WEBB: “What’d I say last time we fought? I mean, we were in Canada already–do you remember?”

ISAAC COHEN: “Not off the top of my head.”

TAYLOR WEBB: “I said we could put this fight in her back-fucking-yard, and it makes no difference to me. Give her the crowd, give her the cheers, give her the audience, whatever. It really, honestly, means nothing to me–I’m not afraid of walking into someone else’s place and doing what’s gotta be done. I don’t care if I’m everyone’s favorite–I wasn’t anyone’s favorite in Brazil back in November, but what’d it change? Short version, not a damn thing; that fight was always gonna go one way, and it did. Surprise, surprise. Honestly, it’s always so funny to me, to hear people talk about, like, the vibe of the night. You gotta show out cuz you’re at home, you gotta impress everyone in your hometown…cool, I guess. If that’s what you need to get motivated, if you can only fight well in front of your people?”

[Taylor raises her eyebrows, tilting her head to the side a little bit.]

ISAAC COHEN: “You brought up the fight against Gabriela Vasquez in Brazil–did you know, coming out of that fight, that you were gonna be next in line to challenge for the title?”

TAYLOR WEBB: “Yeah, no question. There was nowhere to go but up after that fight, and the only people above me were in a title fight already, so I knew there wasn’t much they could do except make me next. Honestly, I just wish there was one more show to close out the year, I woulda loved to get this fight in before the end of 2025.”

ISAAC COHEN: “And then, obviously, this year the holiday break lasted a little longer than normal–does having that extra time help you, coming into a big fight like this?”

TAYLOR WEBB: “I…”

[Taylor’s nose screws upward a little bit as she mulls over her thoughts.]

TAYLOR WEBB: “I’d rather get back in there. Training is one thing, you can sit and focus and push yourself day after day after day, but sitting back for…god, 4, 5 months, however the hell long it’s been now, I get…antsy, I get impatient for the actual fight.”

ISAAC COHEN: “Well, luckily, here we are, less than a day away, so let’s talk about this fight–and I want to start with something that feels…incorrect, but it’s true: it hasn’t even been a full year since your first fight with Marissa. And it’s kind of crazy to have two fights against the same opponent in that short of a time frame, especially with both of you having fought a few times in between.”

[Taylor’s not nearly as concerned with that fact as Isaac, as she just smirks a little in response.]

TAYLOR WEBB: “I mean…I guess? It’s really not that wild to me, personally–mostly cuz…it’s more coincidence than anything. I dunno how many times I can say it, I’m not concerned with the who, just the what, all I care about right now is getting the Bantamweight Championship. It happens to work out that I get this rematch with Marissa, awesome, I thought I won the first fight anyway, so I get a chance to fix that mistake this weekend. If it happened to be that Ciaran got his hand raised in Saudi, cool, I’d be here to take the belt away from him instead. That’s the focus, it’s not about some big…thing, this ain’t a ‘revenge story’ or whatever, I…could not care less who I take the belt from. All I care about is that it happens–that’s it. Getting my hand raised and getting that belt around my waist, that’s all I’m thinking about.”

ISAAC COHEN: “You’ve mentioned that a couple times in the past, feeling like you won the first fight.”

TAYLOR WEBB: “Yeah, I thought I won the first three rounds pretty easily, I thought the fight coulda easily been stopped in the second, and…yanno, this probably sounds bitter, but whatever. If it were anyone else, in any other town, it probably woulda been. I’m not crazy enough to think I won all 5 rounds or whatever, but I was sure I won the fight at the time, I’ve gone back and watched it and I don’t see anything differently. And when they read that decision and called it for her…I’ll be honest, it burned me up inside.”

ISAAC COHEN: “But, you turned that around with two impressive finishes in the following fights–and that leads us to this weekend, as I said a second ago, your second time fighting Marissa in less than a year, both times in Canada–with all the similarities in mind, what do you feel like has changed, heading into this fight, as opposed to last time?”

TAYLOR WEBB: “Everything.”

[There’s a long beat of silence as Taylor replies, Isaac visibly having to parse that comment.]

ISAAC COHEN: “Everything?”

TAYLOR WEBB: “Everything. For the best part of a year, I’ve been training with that fire lit under my ass. Like I said, I got one focus at this point: And New. Whoever they put in front of me to get back here, whoever had the belt once I got here, that’s all I was focused on. Last time we got here, I mean…I can’t say I was surprised to get the call to fight her, but I think all y’all were surprised when it was announced. Now, there’s no question who’s #1. Last time, you had doubts about whether I could compete with her–now, you just sound…stupid, if you still think this is some massive mismatch.”

[Isaac looks like he’s about to interrupt, but Taylor just talks right over him.]

TAYLOR WEBB: “I think the biggest thing for me, though? Is the mentality is different. Last time we were here, I said something…kinda stupid, in hindsight. I said this is just another fight–most people probably think I mean I regret it because it’s supposed to be a big deal to fight Marissa Kane, right? But honestly, that’s not it–I do think Marissa’s just another opponent, who…yeah, she’s got a legacy in the sport, I’ve never said she didn’t. But a lotta people have legacies in the sport, I don’t think fighting Marissa Kane is any more special than fighting anyone else. What I regret about it…is, if I’m honest with myself? It’s not just another fight, is it? Because you only get so many chances to become a champion in this sport. And I wasted one, because last time? Last time, I wanted to win the title. It’s a nice little bow to tie on things, right–you get what you want, to close out the night. It sounds nice. But for the last year? This is all I’ve been thinking about. And I won’t be satisfied with anything short of one more finish, getting that win I thought I had before…and, really, most important: AND NEW…”

[Isaac lets Taylor get everything off her chest, even letting the pause hang for an extra beat, before offering a smile over to the excitable Texan.]

ISAAC COHEN: “Taylor, I know this weekend’s already hectic for you, it’s clear you’re focused on the fight, so I’ll let you finish preparing. Thank you so much for the time, best of luck this weekend.”

TAYLOR WEBB: “For sure.”

[The camera zooms in on Isaac to close out.]

ISAAC COHEN: “Ladies and gentlemen, you don’t want to miss UGP 74 this weekend. It’s an absolutely stacked show, from a battle of undefeated prospects in our opener, to the Bantamweight Championship in our main event, you will not want to miss this card!”

[And on Isaac’s smile, the video cuts.]