UFC welterweight Paul Taylor sees exciting style pay off

By Chris Cork

British welterweight Paul Taylor has been offered a new contract with the UFC, according to the fighter’s coach Jon Roberts.

Taylor, 28, dropped a razor-thin decision to veteran Chris Lytle at UFC 89 earlier this month, but has earned plaudits for an unrelenting style which has helped him to three ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses in just five bouts for the Las Vegas-based promotion.

Roberts said: “They’ve [UFC] already offered him another contract and I’m sure he’s got a lot of longevity with the promotion because he’s an exciting fighter.

“He’s had three fights of the night now from five fights and I don’t think anyone else has done that. You know he’s going to bring it.”

Taylor’s aggressive approach to his craft has clearly struck a chord with UFC President Dana White who compared the British banger to revered boxer Arturo Gatti at the post-fight press conference, and confirmed that both Taylor (9-3-1) and Lytle (35-16-4) picked up $40,000 apiece for their stand-out endeavors.

Roberts – who has recently opened a new gym in Birmingham, England – confessed his disappointment with the judges’ decision and was adamant that his student had done enough to win the contest.

“On the night I was sure that Paul had taken it,” he said. “Having watched the footage of it since, it was a closer fight than I originally thought, but I still think he took it.

“It was a great fight, we didn’t get the decision and I was disappointed with that, but it’s all good at the end of the day because everyone enjoyed the fight.”

Roberts revealed that Taylor sustained a broken rib during the fight and that the injury may have contributed to his downfall.

“One minute into the second round Chris broke Paul’s ninth rib, so that affected him slightly in his performance. He still put the pressure on Chris and still fought tremendously well, but I think that did hamper us a little bit.”

Roberts expects the UFC to ask Taylor to fight on January’s UFC 93 show in Dublin, Ireland, but is unsure whether his fighter will be healthy in time to compete.

He said: “The consultant told us it will take nine weeks for Paul’s rib to fully heal, so we’re going to wait on that and see how it goes because if he can’t train properly for it then I won’t let him fight.”