Renewed, Markus Maluko shows expectations for fight against Eric Spicely this Saturday

M. Maluko (photo) returns to the octagon on August 1, in Las Vegas. Photo: Reproduction/Instagram

Marked by the weigh-in in his last Ultimate performance, in November, when he appeared as 'Joker', Markus Maluko returns to the octagon this Saturday (1), in Las Vegas (USA). Coming off a defeat to his compatriot Wellington Turman, the São Paulo native needs to recover from the setback and sees Eric Spicely as an opportunity to kick off. In an interview with 'Combate', the Brazilian analyzed the confrontation.

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“He’s a grappler (from grappling). His game is to stick to the guy and try to submit or get a technical knockout. He'll want to try to stifle me, and he knows I'm not a fool on the ground, because I have two submission wins in the UFC and I can submit him. He doesn't know that my jiu-jitsu is better than his, and he'll see that on Saturday,” said the Brazilian.

Although he has prepared himself for his new rival's strategy, Markus, who competes in the middleweight division (up to 83,9kg), wants to show his quality in the stand-up fight to the spectators. The fighter stated that he intends to surprise his opponent and prove that he can excel using a combination of punches and kicks.

“My game will be to maintain the striking part, stay on my feet and be able to unleash my game, which I haven't done to date in my fights in the UFC. I worked a lot on meditation, a lot on my psychological game, and, in this fight, I will be very different from what I usually am. The crazy person won’t change, he’s always crazy, so I’ll be really crazy on Saturday”, he said.

This will be Markus' sixth appearance since his Ultimate debut. Having debuted in December 2017, the Brazilian currently has two wins and three negative results. In total, the 30-year-old from São Paulo has 15 appearances, with 12 triumphs and three setbacks.

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