Cody Gibson no lover of his UFC Edmonton performance, despite scorecard sweep

EDMONTON, Alberta, Canada – Cody Gibson beat Chad Anheliger with a unanimous decision Saturday on the preliminary card at UFC Fight Night 246 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Take a look inside the fight with Gibson, a “TUF 31” finalist who now has back-to-back wins.

Cody Gibson def. Chad Anheliger

Result: Cody Gibson def. Chad Anheliger via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
Updated records: Gibson (21-10 MMA, 3-5 UFC), Anheliger (13-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC)
Key stats: Gibson landed five takedowns and controlled all but about a half-round of the entire fight.

Gibson on the fight’s key moment

“I’m a little disappointed in my performance, so I’ll have to go back and watch it. You’re always calculating submission over position, risk versus reward. I feel like I played a little safer than I needed to tonight. I knew I was going to dominate on the ground and have the ability to keep him there and I was shooting for submissions. He did a really good job defending the arm triangle, defending a couple front choke attempts. I’m trying to hurt somebody. I’m not making $1 million a fight, so my silver lining is the bonus. Obviously, you want to win fights – that’s important to stay here, winning. But I’m here to put on exciting fights for fans. I know Chad was looking for it. Somewhat disappointing in myself, that’s all.”

Gibson on his confidence

“I’m 37 years old, but when I was in the UFC 10 years ago, the guy today would beat the hell out of that guy. I know the internet loves to call me an old man all day, and I’ve got to stop listening to that stuff. I still feel good and the guy you saw tonight is the best version that there is. Now this is about leveling up every single time and just being confident. Confidence has always been the thing I struggle with, so two in a row, build on that momentum and hopefully some authentic confidence comes along with it. ”

Gibson on what he wants next

“My wife’s getting mad at me because I heard that pay-per-view in January might be heading (to Southern California). That’s a little quicker than my wife probably would like – might be even a little quicker than I’d like, but because we have just been going back-to-back-to-back. But if they’re coming to L.A. on a big pay-per-view card? It’s not something I could say no to, so we’ll see what happens. I like fun fights. They gave me Chad. They gave me (Brian) Kelleher before that. Those are guys that like to come out and entertain. I promise you the next time out, it’ll be a lot of entertainment. That’s what I’m shooting for.”

To hear more from Gibson, check out the video of the full post-fight interview above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC Fight Night 246.