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In case it wasn’t clear when he broke out the ‘Billionaire Strut,’ Andre Fili clarifies that he wasn’t the least bit fazed by Conor McGregor’s presence to support his UFC Fight Night 118 opponent.

If anything, Fili thought the pre-fight antagonism was pretty cool.

Fili (17-5 MMA, 5-4 UFC) got back on the winning path after beating Artem Lobov (13-14-1 MMA, 2-4 UFC) via unanimous decision at Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland. But that wasn’t the only highlight of Fili’s evening.

After his victory was announced, Fili sealed it by delivering a moving post-fight speech. And, before the fight even started, he made sure to capitalize on a high-profile presence when he used lightweight champ McGregor’s own gimmick to provoke him.

McGregor was there, of course, to support friend and training partner Lobov. And McGregor he got so excited doing it that referee Marc Goddard had to step in and ask him to keep things professional.

So how was it for Fili to have a third and notable antogonist lingering around the cage?

“I was aware of him, obviously. While Artem was walking out I saw him,” Fili told MMAjunkie Radio. “We had our little pissing contest, our little staredown. I (expletive) started, he was talking (expletive), he was talking (expletive). We were kind of doing our thing. But I liked that. I thought it was cool. I think the fans thought it was cool.

“I think part of this sport is showmanship. Also, if it has to do with McGregor, people are going to be excited. I thrive off that (expletive). I (expletive) love confrontation. So him being there and him sort of – actually, it was cool.”

As Fili told MMAFighting today, though, Fili was later made aware of a much less pleasant side of the champ’s attitude. Having shared mutual declarations of respect with McGregor at the event, Fili took issue with the “fake” attitude of saying things behind his back. But, also, he was adamantly against the homophobic slur he used in the process.

“There’s no need to use words like that,” Fili said. “You don’t need to demean other people to make yourself seem bigger. Whenever you hear someone use that word or call someone a ‘bitch,’ that makes you look so insecure.”

In any case, once the fight was on, Fili was all business.

“During the fight I didn’t notice him at all, to be honest,” Fili told MMAjunkie Radio. “I was just focused on the fight. I didn’t notice he was circling around. When (Goddard) stopped me and Artem, when I was on top of him, I didn’t know why the (expletive) he was stopping. I didn’t even hear McGregor. I was just hearing my cornerman, and I was just trying to beat Artem up.”

That, he did.

Despite a late rally by Lobov in the third round, Fili did enough to earn a clean 30-27 sweep on the judges’ scorecards. The result landed Fili back on the winning track following a decision loss to Calvin Kattar in July – and maybe spelled retirement for Lobov.

Of course, it wasn’t an entirely flawless night. Fili, who told MMAjunkie prior to the bout about his issues getting used to Poland’s timezone, believes that affected his performance. And he does wish that his first-round head kick had sealed the deal. But, all in all, he thinks the fight went “pretty good.”

“The travel time was like over 20 hours with all the layovers added up,” Fili said. “And I didn’t sleep more than a couple of hours each night because I was trying to get used to the time difference. So I really felt that in the third round. The third round didn’t go how I wanted.

“But I did what I needed to do to get the win. I felt the fight was still pretty exciting, all things considered.”

Now, as he reclaims both momentum and excitement to be in the cage, Fili already has some ideas for his next steps. First, he’ll probably need a few days to recover from the tattoo he was getting done during the interview with MMAjunkie Radio – a realistic portrait of The Grinch, in case you were wondering.

To hear from Fili, check out the video above (just pardon his occasional, tattoo-motivated grunts).

And for complete coverage of UFC Fight Night 118, check out the UFC Events section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.

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