Ryan LaFlare (Fox Sports)

After a few setbacks, UFC 208 is underway. Several fighters may have had to drop out, but that didn’t stop Ryan LaFlare from starting the night with a victory. The Lindenhurst-born LaFlare defeated Roan Carneiro via unanimous decision inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn (30-27, 30-26, 29-28).

The crowd went wild with “USA” chants as they knew they were watching something/someone special.  In an entertaining moment, Carneiro got knocked back into a television camera, rendering it obsolete for a while. After working hard the first two rounds, LaFlare seemed to gain a lot of energy in the third.

His interview after the fight was pretty simple, stating:

“It is an honor to be the first fight in Brooklyn and, to get the win, I feel incredible.”

The Brooklyn crowd gave LaFlare a standing ovation for his effort. The only fan he really knew that was extremely proud of him was his father. Speaking to the media, he stated he was honored to fight in front of his dad (and that he didn’t get knocked out while doing so). He was also happy to see kids from his fighting school in Farmingdale cheer him on.

While he was upset he didn’t make the UFC 205 card at Madison Square Garden, LaFlare knew his time would come. He can now check fighting in Brooklyn off of his list. He’ll be in a good mood tonight as he boards the LIRR, which is very rare. What is his goal next? UFC 210 in Buffalo doesn’t sound like a bad idea to him.

Ryan LaFlare is now 13-1 and 6-1 in the UFC. The 33-year old welterweight may not have a sexy resume, but he is slowly becoming a threat. Watching him tonight, its clear he is a true warrior who will get his due sooner rather than latter.