Fighters usually have one of two approaches when it comes to preparing for a fight: cater the entirety of your gameplan and camp toward the style and strength of a single opponent, or focus on capitalizing on your own strengths, no matter who the opponent might be.
“Demolidor” uses the latter, which benefited him this time around when Muslim Salikhov was forced to withdraw from their bout, altering the makeup of the matchup completely from a fight between two rising prospects in the welterweight division to the classic matchup of a fighter with a solid footing in the UFC versus an eager debutant.
“I changed many things and organized a lot of things with my trainers in Brazil, so I’m much more prepared,” the 28-year-old said. “This time I prepared myself a little more. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is going to be, I’m prepared.”
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Now set to take on UFC newcomer Andre Fialho, Pereira recognizes the position he’s in as he welcomes the Portugual native to the biggest stage in mixed martial arts
“I’m very happy to be on this card and that UFC is looking at me in a bit of a different way,” the Brazilian said, speaking of the entertainment value he knows he brings to the Octagon. “I like it. This is a good opportunity. So I wanted to thank the UFC for putting me on this card. I’m prepared to make this a show.”