Earlier this week, Jacob "Stitch" Duran was let go from the UFC. We talked to him to get his side of the story.
Bad Boy: What was the backstory to this whole fiasco?
Jacob “Stitch” Duran: Me and Ray Sefo are friends and go way back. When he put on his first show with World Series of Fighting, he calls me and says “can you get me some cutmen” so I did the show. These fighters get in there and give it their all. I always want to do my job and make sure they’re being looked after as well as they can be. To me, their safety matters.
"I always want to do my job and make sure they’re being looked after as well as they can be. To me, their safety matters." -Stitch Duran
Afterward the UFC says I gave these guys credibility, and I had to tell Ray I couldn’t do it anymore.
When I was asked earlier about my sponsors and how the Reebok deal limited me, I just told the truth of how and why it affected me, and some details like that came out. That didn’t go over too well.
BB: This clearly created a big reaction in the community. What has that been like for you?
Stitch: The fans have been amazing. I’m getting so much support from them and my phone won’t stop buzzing from tweets and texts. It’s really been incredible and I can’t thank them enough.
When I got the call from (Bad Boy CEO) Robin, I was blown away. For your readers who didn’t hear me announce it on MMAjunkie Radio, he called me up and said that the money from sales of Stitch Premium would go direct to me. It choked me up hearing him offer me that, just for the show of loyalty. It’s that you guys stepped forward when someone was trying to step on me. So anybody looking to pick up what I use to keep fighters safe, clickStitch Premium by Bad Boy and use the code SAFETYMATTERS for 20% off.
BB: Moving forward, what are your next steps?
Stitch: I’m not out to bash anyone or create any bad blood, I’m here to rebuild my program. Thankfully there are a lot of things happening quickly. I’ll be at The Palms to work a Premier Boxing show this Saturday. There’s a movie called Monday Nights at Seven that comes out next year with Edward James Olmos and Anderson Silva that I’m taking part in.
In MMA, this all went full circle and comes back to Ray Sefo. I’m coming back to World Series of Fighting for their show on August 1st, and the Bad Boy jacket is coming back too. I’ll also be doing a signing for them that we're announcing soon.
BB: Great! I know you’ve had plenty of media and interviews and don’t want to take up too much of your time. Do you have any closing thoughts?
Stitch: More than anything, I’d like to say thanks again to the fans who have afforded me so much. They’ve really had my back. Also the media who have written and voiced their support and concerns, and of course Bad Boy for supporting me.
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