Ricky
Glenn appears to have reached a crossroads in his mixed martial
arts career.
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The Marshalltown, Iowa, native has lost consecutive bouts for the
first time in his professional tenure, falling to Drew Dober
and Christos
Giagos via KO/TKO in his last two UFC appearances. Those
defeats were also the first two knockout losses of Glenn’s career,
which began in 2006.
Glenn will look to return to the win column for the first time in
three years when he squares off against Kenan Song
in a preliminary lightweight bout at UFC 305
at RAC Arena in Perth, Australia, on Saturday night.
“I’ve never been TKOed or KOed, so that’s kind of weird,” Glenn
told UFC.com. “F—k man, you can control everything
you can control, but then when you get in there, you just kind of
gotta roll the dice, do the best you can do.
“Obviously the best I can do wasn’t enough, and I lost my last
couple fights, and I’m just looking at this one as going in there,
having fun; trying not to game plan too much and just throwing my
shots when I see them.”
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Glenn, who turned 35 earlier this year, is well aware that fighting
has an expiration date. At this point, his expectations are simply
to enjoy his time in the Octagon as much as possible.
“I’m getting older, I’m not gonna be fighting for much longer,” he
said. “The title shot is definitely out of the picture, Top 10 is
probably out of the picture. I want to go in there and have fun;
hopefully win, but if not, then so be it.
“It’s like, ‘Well s—t’ I gotta keep my head high and be proud that
I made it, I guess. Some people here in town — I’m from the Middle
of Nowhere, Iowa — they’re like, ‘Aw man, you’re in the UFC, you
made it — you should be proud of that,’ and it’s like, I am, but
s—t — I had such higher expectations for myself.”
With that in mind, perhaps it will be easier for Glenn to throw
caution to the wind when he steps into the Octagon with Song on
Saturday. After beginning his career at featherweight, UFC 305 will
mark Glenn’s fifth promotional appearance at 155 pounds.
“I think it’s gonna be a freeing type feeling for me; I’m not tied
down to a bunch of expectations,” he said. “I hope I win, of
course, but if not, gosh — whatever. It is what it is, and I hate
to say that and it sucks, but I’m confident. I feel a lot healthier
at this weight class [155 pounds]. I feel a lot sharper and,
surprisingly, I feel a little quicker. I’m heavier, but I feel
healthier, so hopefully that translates into my fight [on
Saturday].”