Whether it was the promise of screaming fans in sleeveless shirts that did it or not, fact is that UFC featherweight Chas Skelly got the home scrap he wanted.

Set to face Jason Knight (16-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) at UFC 211 in Dallas on May 13, Skelly (17-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) will be featured on the FX-televised preliminary portion of a stacked double-championship card. But to him, placement or hype is irrelevant in light of the unique chance to have his lifelong supporters present.

“For me, with this fight, more than gaining buzz around my name, or getting more followers or people to watch me,” Skelly told MMAjunkie Radio, “I wanted to fight at my home town so people from Azle could come out and watch, the people I grew up with. It’s impossible for them to get out and go watch me anywhere else. Dallas is really the only place they could come, unless there’s a card in Forth Worth or something like that.

“Tickets are expensive, hotel rooms are expensive, and people can’t afford to travel and take a whole weekend and take their family and come watch me fight. So what I wanted was to fight in front of my fans and the people who’ve been following me basically my whole life, watching me wrestle since I was a kid, coming up through high school and college.”

Skelly couldn’t estimate the number of people he expected to be present at American Airlines Center to cheer him on. But, when the number 200 was thrown around, he said he’d “imagine it to be way more.”

“When I would fight local shows, I would pretty much sell out the local venues,” Skelly said.

Apart from the home motivation, Skelly walks into the featherweight scrap with the confidence of his recent back-to-back submissions of Maximo Blanco and Chris Gruetzemacher. Knight, in turn, brings in some momentum of his own, riding a three-fight streak capped off by a submission of Alex Caceres in January.

Not one to engage in trash-talking, Skelly doesn’t have any particular scores to settle with Mississippi native Jason Knight. Well, kind of.

“The only thing I say is, there’s only room for one redneck in this 145-pound UFC trailer park,” Skelly said. “And that’s me. I think we’re both pretty country.”

Skelly has only lost twice in his career, both times in the octagon. The first was his UFC debut, in 2014, when he dropped a majority decision to also then-undefeated Mirsad Bektic at UFC on FOX 11. The second, at this past May’s UFC 196, was a unanimous call to Darren Elkins that snapped a four-fight streak for Skelly.

While losses are never fun, Skelly took some valuable lessons from his – including better self-care. If before Skelly would spend the “equivalent of days” in bath tubs and the sauna struggling to get the weight off, he now looks to stay in shape. The results are telling: After two easy weight cuts, he has two impressive submissions.

“I think those losses taught me, more than anything, that you have to be smart,” Skelly said. “One of the losses taught me I have to be smart and make better decisions with when to take fights and not to take fights. The Elkins fight, I wasn’t prepared for it. My camp was just awful – no preparation. I couldn’t stay in the gym.

“I think it just taught me to be smarter with my career and be persistent. Keep training even outside of camps – stay in shape. Eat right, make the weight cuts easier on myself. That’s something that I’ve really really stressed in my last couple of camps.”

While Skelly has been a somewhat quiet presence in the busy featherweight division, a good win over up-and-coming Knight on such a high-visibility card could certainly make a statement. And though he doesn’t have an exact prediction as to how that can end, Skelly entertains a few hopes.

“I think I would like to make this a complete fight,” Skelly said. “To stay tactical, and look to beat him striking, and when the opportunity presents itself, take him down and beat him on the ground. That’s always the game plan. Make it a complete fight and make him fight everywhere.

“I would imagine, if I had to pick a way for me to win, I would say by submission. I think once it gets to the ground, I’m going to be a little more polished. But you never know. I actually imagine this being a three-round barnburner. That’s what I’m hoping for.”

For more on UFC 211, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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