Gilbert Durinho is close to most important fight of his career. The Brazilian, sixth placed in the welterweight rankings (up to 77.1 kg.) faces the North American Tyron woodley, first in the classification. In case of victory, the Tupiniquim black belt will be close to fighting for the belt.
Before climbing out of the octagon, however, Durinho spoke to the SUPER FIGHTS em exclusive interview. He talked about his preparation to face the former champion, his rivalry with Colby covington and a possible duel with the training partner Kamaru Usman.
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In the chat on our Youtube channel, Durinho began by talking about his meteoric rise in the welterweight division. In just nine months, he defeated three opponents and will now face the first in the division rankings.
“I had been working hard for this. At lightweight it was difficult to get opportunities (due to the weight cut). But when I moved up a category it's easier for me to take any opportunity because I don't need to cut a lot of weight. And that opened up opportunities for me…. I’ve been planting for a long time and now I’m starting to reap the rewards,” she said.
Tyron Wodley Duel
Then, Durinho analyzed his next rival: Tyron woodley. The Brazilian analyzed his rival, showing knowledge of the former champion's strengths and weaknesses.
“Woodley is a very strong guy, very explosive. He hits hard with his right hand, has a good kick and was a great wrestler, but today he's an MMA athlete. Today he doesn't use wrestling as much as I think he could because he's a guy who really likes striking” said Durinho, before diagnosing his rival's weakness “But he has a weakness which is gas (physical conditioning). He’s a guy who fights with a lot of effort because everything he does uses energy”, he added.
The Brazilian analyzed the possibility of being taken down by the North American, but said he would like to show his jiu-jitsu in front of Woodley, even if from below on the ground. “He has good wrestling, but he hasn't been using it as much while I've been using my jiu-jitsu a lot. I even think he won’t want to take me down, but it would be a very interesting point for me to work from below”, he added.
Possible duel against partner Kamaru Usman
As a duel scheduled against the number one in the welterweight division, the next challenge would have to be against Kamaru Usman, category champion and Durinho's training partner. The Brazilian analyzed the possibility and showed no discomfort with the chance to face his teammate.
“He (Usman) already helped me for this fight, we trained a lot last week. We never talked about it (possible title fight), we have the same manager…. I wouldn't fight Vicente (Luque) – another training partner and personal friend –, there's no atmosphere. But with Kamaru, yes, I would fight. He is a training partner, but he is not a close friend,” he said.
The challenges facing Colby Covington
In case of victory against Woodley, Durinho has another opponent in mind: Colby covington. The Brazilian has already challenged the former interim champion a few times, but the duel never came to fruition
“I want to fight him, he's already said a lot of nonsense. If I beat Woodley well, maybe it will be him (Colby) before the Kamaru Usman. I know he's a really tough guy. He talked a lot about Brazil, I don't have that regret, but it's going to be cool to beat him up, knock him out or submit him”, he concluded.
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