Photo credit to Sherdog
Taneisha Tennant “I’m the best bantamweight out there in the world”
Taneisha Tennant tests skills with Talita Bernardo at Invicta FC 51 on January 18th.
Tennant appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts to discuss her sophomore title defense, why she believes she’s the best 135-pounder in the world, and more. Excerpts from our chat are below.
Taneisha Tennant
The takeaways from the last fight which saw Tennant secure her first title defense over Olga Rubin
“I would say it was a good win. It definitely was a different kind of like style that I’m used to fighting. She was basically on like her backfoot most of this fight. So I really had to pressure the entire fight. But yeah, I think it was good. Her record, her experience speaks for itself. So I was able to win the fight and, you know, still look good while doing it.”
Possible tape studying on her next opponent Bernardo and Tennant’s thoughts on all of that
“For me, what I like to do is I like to maybe watch like one or two of their previous fights. Just get an idea of their style. Not too in-depth, just general style. I let my coaches watch the videos and kind of formulate a game plan. For me, this camp particularly I was just focused on myself. Tightening up some things that I need to work on. Just really sharpening the axe, you know. So I can be one hundred percent.”
Invicta FC 51
If the sparring partner dynamics for Tennant have been curated to mirror a more Jiu-Jitsu-centric approach from Bernardo
“I mean, yeah. Definitely high-level grapplers I’ve been rolling with. A lot of black belts. Body types as well they just happen to end up working out that they’re also kind of shorter than me. So it kind of works out where they’re mirroring, you know, her height as well. So yeah, that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing.”
Winning a Phoenix Rising tournament and how the methodology differs there when fighting three opponents in a single night
“I would say my energy levels are pretty well regulated. I usually try to keep a calm demeanor, you know. Just focus on the mission at hand. Especially with the tournament, the Phoenix tournament, I had to be like more so just like calm. A lot of moving pieces were going on. I didn’t even know who I was fighting most of the time. So I definitely had to be calm. I don’t know, just being there with my trainers and just knowing that honestly, just knowing that I was the best one out there.”
“I honestly believe I’m the best bantamweight out there in the world, to be honest. Yeah, that’s basically what you’re seeing. Just having one fight that night, it’s a breeze because there’s only twenty-five minutes maximum and it could be a lot shorter. That’s what I think going into these fights, it doesn’t have to be twenty-five minutes.”
