“I think that in another way if the guy I fought wasn’t the guy that I fought and I got that submission, like maybe say, a guy with not so great a record, I’m not going to get upset about not getting Submission of the Year,” Gonzalez said. “This guy was 11-2, he’s on the UFC’s radar. He was the top guy in the northeast region and I come out and submit him. I beat him at what he’s best at. I thought that would make my case even better.”
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There are no retroactive award winners, so unfortunately the door is closed on 2020 for Gonzalez, but with a team around him that includes Chris Weidman, Matt Serra and Aljamain Sterling, Gonzalez’s ground game is only going to get better. Now that his hands are also being fine-tuned, Gonzalez just may end up pulling more than just Submission of the Year in 2021.
“I’m not scared to give up takedowns and I’ve been working on my striking so I feel like I could pull like a Nate Diaz,” Gonzalez said. “I could turn a striker into a wrestler if I had to now. It’s pretty much what I’ve been working on right now. I’ve been working on these hands to make guys scared of them.”
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