Nate Quarry and Tim Credeur opened up Ultimate Fight Night 19 in what is likely to be a 'Fight of the Year' candidate. The back and forth battle had the crowd roaring, and earned both gentleman a 'Fight of the Night' $30,000 bonus.

Credeur proved to be the quicker fighter, landing several combinations and leg kicks that damaged Quarry in the opening rounds. He managed to stun Quarry a few times, but it was Quarry's right hand that saved him time and time again. Credeur was caught by the over-hand right, but kept his composure each time he was sent to the canvas. Both men were battered and bruised by the fight's end as fans were on their feet congratulating the two combatants.

FiveKnuckles.com caught up with Credeur at an Atlanta airport and got his input on last night's epic fight with Quarry.

How are you feeling after 15 minutes of back-and-forth, non-stop action?

I feel good today. He definitely caught me with some right hands, but I think I did a better job keeping my hands up and my chin down. Except when I come in and start landing a lot of punches... you know I start getting over anxious and I'm just going to throw until the wheels fall off. And that's just craziness. I guess it fits my moniker. I try to be smart about it, but sometimes I'm a little too nuts for my own good.

How do you feel about your performance last night?

I knew Nate Quarry was the kind of guy that would stand there and fight. I don't know if he really believed I was going to stand there too, but I think I showed last night that it was a good fight for me at this point in my career. Having a tough battle with somebody like Nate maybe proves that I deserve to be there. I got a little work to do and think I was a little over-aggressive sometimes, but I'll work on it. I'll be back in the gym next week.

What was the plan going into the fight with Quarry?

Well, my plan was to keep my distance and use some kicks. I knew he was gonna throw the over-hand right. I tried to use my speed and combinations because we thought we'd be a little faster than Quarry. I think we were right, and I think I won the first round. The problem in the second round was I got too overanxious. Sometimes it's my fault and I'm just aggressive. If I start landing a couple punches, I'm going to run at you. That's just not a good idea, and my boxing coach almost cut my head off. I take it as a learning experience and move forward from here. If I keep making the progress I'm making, we should be in the win column the next time.

What do you make of the 'Fight of the Year' rumors circulating, and the perception of you as a fighter?

It's an honor to be even mentioned as 'Fight of the Year' in the same category as the fights like Diego Sanchez vs. Clay Guida. I don't think you can ever go into a fight expecting that. I think a lot of it has to do with the match-up. I know a lot of people were looking at this fight thinking what is this fight doing on the main card? You got Phillipe Nover vs. Sam Stout, Steve Cantwell...