“His hands are going to be full” Chris Lee Byrne on Ali Charkie at Unified MMA 44

Chris Lee Byrne tests skills with Ali Charkie on Unified MMA 44. This fight goes down at Seven Chiefs Sportsplex & Jim Starlight Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and broadcasts via UFC Fight Pass on May 6th.

I spoke with CLB ahead of this Unified MMA clash and excerpts from our chat are below.

Chris Lee Byrne

What Ali Charkie does well in CLB’s estimation

“He looks like a gamer, man. He looks mentally strong and he looks like he has a really good top game. Like he’s hard to sweep and hard to submit. He looks like he’s a very good wrestler. Looks like he swings hard. I think I pace myself better. Think I have cleaner shots. I think I’m a lot harder to hold down than the guys he’s fought. Not underestimating him. I’m planning on him to either keep it standing or try to stay on top of me and maybe elbow me a bit. His hands are going to be full, that’s for sure.”

If there’s a sense of upward mobility in Byrne’s MMA career competing on UFC Fight Pass

“I’m definitely scratching at that upper echelon now I think. But inching up towards it. I try to not put too much thought into it. I just show up and I fight. Whatever happens, happens. If I fight twenty guys, I’m going to beat most of them. If someone’s that special to beat me, they’ll probably end up in the UFC anyway. But we’ll see if Ali Charkie is that special.”

Unified MMA 44

What a possible next step could be should CLB get the desired outcome on Friday

“Yeah basically UFC is coming to Toronto in September I’m hearing. So if I can get this win, that’ll be 6-1. I’ll try to get on that. If not, then I’ll be looking for a title fight or to put together another win streak.”

Parting thoughts for Chris Lee Byrne

“Just thank my sponsors. Helping Heroes, Innovative Electric, Live Fit (Foods), Toth Dental Hygiene [as well as King Faisal and The Solar Store]. Check out my social media at Chris Lee Byrne on all socials. You’ll see all my sponsors, my site updates, my team updates, and kind of see what’s going on with my training.”

Dylan Bowker

I've been enamored with combat sports for as long as I can remember. I've hosted MMA talk shows Lights Out and Pure Fight Radio with featured guests like Jens Pulver, Roy Nelson, Miesha Tate, Mark Coleman, and more. I've been an MMA broadcaster for XFFC as well as BTC and have done play by play commentary on live pay per view on GFL as well as FITE TV. I've provided written, audio, and video content covering some of the biggest MMA promotions like Rumble in the Cage, Unified MMA, and King of the Cage. I've worked as a sports entertainment personality for over five years and given play-by-play or featured promotions of KSW, ONE Championship, TKO, and Invicta FC. My work can be found in the USA Today Sports affiliate MMA Torch, Cageside Press, MMA Sucka, and Liberty Multimedia.

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