Eddie Wineland Feels Renan Barao Bout Stopped Too Early, But Focus Now Is Yves Jabouin

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Eddie Wineland will look to bounce back from his bantamweight title bout loss to Renan Barao when he meets Yves Jabouin on Saturday at UFC on Fox 10.

Ahead of the matchup, Wineland joined the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show to discuss his opponent, his loss to Barao and more.

On whether he learned anything from his loss to Barao: “I learned that I stood in there with the best in the world and I beat him in the first round. He kicked me in the shoulder and knocked me down, and the referee decided that was enough. He caught me with a good kick. It was a good kick, but it was a kick that grazed off of my glove and hit me in the shoulder and knocked me down. If I was knocked out, I’d be the first guy to say I was knocked out. Again props to him -- he hit me with a good kick. That being said, I don’t think the fight should have been stopped that fast. I think the fans were robbed of what could have been a great fight.”

On whether Jabouin is more than just a striker: “He wouldn’t be in the UFC if he was completely one-sided. Do I think he’s better at striking than the ground game? Absolutely. That being said, he’s a dangerous fighter. He’s there for a reason and they put him in there with me for a reason, and the reason is because it’s going to be a great fight and it’s going to be a big challenge.”

On whether a win over Jabouin gets him back in the bantamweight title picture: “I think to get back to No. 1 contendership I’m probably looking at a couple more wins. Get through Yves -- I can’t look through Yves yet because he’s a very solid opponent. He possesses a lot of problems and he’s very dangerous. That being said, once I get through him, we can kind of look at getting back into top-tier guys. Not that Yves isn’t a top-tier guy. I think he’s a very legitimate fighter; he just doesn’t have a number attached to his name. From there, we start pressing to the guys that are top two, three and four.”

On why he fights: “I love to fight. I don’t think it’s any secret. I’ve been fighting since 2003. It’s been 11 years since I’ve been fighting. I was doing it since before it was the cool thing to do. I’ve been a wrestler since I was a little kid. I’ve always been one to try and test myself and see how far I can push myself. What better way to do that than to stand in an enclosed cage with another man who wants to take your head off?”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 1:13:27).