After preparing to face Canadian Roger Hollett, Brazilian Wagner Caldeirão received the news that his opponent had been injured and was therefore unable to fight. “I received an email from my manager, saying that Roger Hollet was injured, they didn't know any more information yet, but that they would probably find a replacement for him quickly, so I went to train. Right after training, a journalist called me and that's how I found out that I would face Ildemar Marajó”, said the athlete.
The greatest difficulty encountered by the athlete from then on was adapting the training. With little time left until fight day, Wagner made only small changes: “Training is always done with the next opponent in mind. As my opponent was a striker, I focused on the stand-up fight. I preferred to explore my stand-up side a lot, because that's the fighting style I like the most. After the change of opponent, I started to divide my training more, focusing a lot on jiu-jitsu as well,” he explains.
Wagner also said that he would prefer not to fight a Brazilian in the UFC. “We work so hard to get to the UFC and then we have to fight someone from Brazil. It was now our time to beat the foreigners,” he joked. Caldeirão knows that the fans will be very divided, as they are two athletes fighting at home, but he doesn't hide that he expects support from São Paulo: “Of course they will support both of them, but I hope they support me a little more, right? After all, UFC is in São Paulo and I’m also from São Paulo.”
excited about the UFC Sao Paulo, Caldeirão also made a request to the city's public: “The people of São Paulo have to show that we have as much excitement as the public of Rio de Janeiro, come and liven up the event, cheer a lot. We have the strength for this.”
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