NEW YORK (AP) — Ethyn Ewing slept through dozens of calls and text messages Thursday morning, from everyone from anxious family members to his inner fight camp circle.

Wake up, Ethyn. His UFC dream was waiting for him.

“My sister, she never calls me in the morning,” Ewing said. “She said, ‘call dad, it’s an emergency.’ I thought it was a car accident or something. I was not thinking (UFC). I called my dad back first. He goes, ’I’m gonna whup your ass if you don’t wake up and answer your phone calls.”

The 27-year-old Ewing answered the bell with about 48 hours’ notice to make his UFC debut on a pay-per-view at — of all places — Madison Square Garden.

He couldn’t be totally blamed for needing some extra shuteye. Ewing had just fought days earlier, winning an MMA fight on Nov. 7 as part

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