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T.J. Laramie: Similarities between DWCS, Darrick Minner made quick turnaround easy decision

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After earning a UFC deal, it took less than a week for T.J. Laramie to get his first UFC fight booked.

Fresh off his stoppage win over Daniel Swain at Dana White’s Contender Series 29 last month, Laramie (12-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) was booked against Darrick Minner, and the two will fight Saturday at UFC on ESPN+ 36 at UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

So it’s right back to action for Laramie, but the Canadian prospect told MMA Junkie Radio how similarities in both the fighting style and body type of Swain and Minner (24-11 MMA, 0-1 UFC) facilitated his decision to get back in the cage so quickly.

“For me personally, it just made a lot of sense based on the matchup compared to my last matchup, so I feel I already trained for an opponent super similar to Darrick Minner, and I was still in shape,” Laramie said. “I kind of got the notice for that fight like four or five days after I had fought, so I wasn’t too out of shape or anything like that, and it just made so much sense to just get this one in, keep my name out there, keep it hot coming off Contender Series, and then go from there.”

Laramie, 22, will compete against someone with more than double his cage experience in Minner. But for Laramie, he insists he’s a lot more at ease heading into Saturday than he was when trying to impress UFC president Dana White for a deal.

“I definitely feel like it’s less stressful for sure,” Laramie said. “I’m not really fighting for anything besides a win at this point. When you’re going on the Contender Series, you’re fighting for a contract – like, there’s something that you’re fighting for. For me personally, I don’t feel like I have to show or prove anything. I just have to go out and win, and I feel like anytime I do that it’s going to be impressive, and people are going to enjoy it.”

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