As someone who carries a battleaxe to the cage, 27-year-old Emil Meek is supposed to perform like a warrior.
Despite his awesome prop game, few believed that the Norwegian striker could get past Brazilian submission specialist Rousimar Palhares at Venator FC III in Milan, Italy, back on May 21, 2016. Fortunately for Meek, a fighter who was more or less thrown into the fire in order to preserve Palhares' promotional stock, he was able to dismantle "Toquinho" in just 45 seconds.
It was easily one of the biggest upsets of 2016 thus far, and a victory for Meek that has left him in a position to truly make something out of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career. Furthermore, Palhares seemingly got what he deserved after getting booted from multiple promotions in the past for illegal submission locks.
One of those promotions, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), wasted no time in reaching out to Meek and congratulating him on defeating the Brazilian.
"Joe Silva sent me an email, and they congratulated me on the win," said Meek in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour (transcribed by MMA Fighting). "I haven't wrote them back yet, I haven't had the time. I can't just reply, 'Hey, nice. Thank you. Can I fight now?' I have to make something beautiful and nice, but I have a sheet or a draft that I'll send them right after we do this [the interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour]."
Remember, Palhares was released by UFC back in 2013 after refusing to let go of Mike Pierce's heel after tapping him out at UFC Fight Night 29.
"You know, the fun thing about fighting Palhares is that everybody wanted me to win," added Meek. "I don't think that everybody thought I would win... The thing [is] that everybody was rooting for me, and I really appreciate that... So, yeah, I really wanted to beat him, and I believe in my heart that I could do it. I would never ask for a fight if I wouldn't believe that I would actually have a chance to win."
Meek also stated that he has received interest from other promotions like World Series of Fighting and One FC, but is simply looking to fight at the highest level possible.
"I want to be that figure and that person that can take and legalize the sport, and give the Norwegian fans someone to root for, and somebody that does it great in the world-class [level]," said Meek. "I think now I'm definitely on the right track for it. I want to be that guy, and I definitely think that, maybe, not this fight did it, but a few more fights, absolutely. I think its possible."