Confidence, but without arrogance; Daniel Miojo removes pressure for debut and reveals gratitude to Alex Cowboy

D. Miojo poses for a photo at UFC Vegas 41 media day Photo; Instagram

Ready for your Ultimate debut, Daniel Miojo already has a very important weapon to seek victory in the UFC Las Vegas 41st next Saturday (23): confidence. In an exclusive chat with SUPER LUTAS, the Brazilian fighter showed great optimism for his future in the organization, spoke about the importance of his family in his career and showed gratitude to his training partner Alex Cowboy. Check out this and other excerpts from the conversation.

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“I'm going to be UFC champion. This is inevitable. Me, Deiveson (Figueiredo) and (Brandon) Moreno, we're going to shock each other when we meet. They don’t know me, but I know them and when they meet me, they will see something they have never felt before because my energy is that of a champion, my aura is that of a champion and that will bother them”.

Pressure to debut?

“Man, I'm feeling so much happiness that there's no room for pressure. I don't feel pressure from my debut, from my opponent, from anything. I'm going to get there and fight as if I were in the gym, you'll see.”

About your opponent

“Man, Jeff (Molina) is a really tough guy. But he's thinking he got an easy fight. He's used to having easy fights here in the USA, having his 'cartel set up'. If you look at my record, I have never chosen an opponent in my life. In my last fight, I defeated an opponent who had more than 30 fights in his career as if it were easy. I think Jeff has been saying some not very nice things, I watched some of his interviews saying that I don't have much to present. He has to recognize that he is facing the biggest challenge of his career and I say with certainty that he is not the biggest challenge I have ever faced.”

Importance of family

“Look, firstly for God, but if it weren't for my family I wouldn't be here. They do everything so I can just train and eat well. My mother, my father, my wife, my mother-in-law, my father-in-law, they are the ones who make things happen behind the scenes. I have a wife and two daughters and we don't work (with a formal contract). So, imagine, how am I going to train and feed a house with two daughters? My mother helps a little here, my father-in-law, my mother-in-law, they help by watching the children, when it's not possible I take them to training. They are the people who are there regardless of me being Daniel Miojo or not. When I get home, I’m their Daniel, so my family is the thing I value most in my life.”

Gratitude to Alex Cowboy

“Cowboy is a guy who has always helped me, he has a very good heart. From the moment I arrived in Três Rios (RJ) he hugged me. When I lived at the gym, I didn't have much money for lunch, I had R$150 to spend the whole month. It was me and another friend, we bought a warm one and shared it between the two of us. One day Cowboy discovered this, called us and took us to the restaurant and said: 'From today onwards, you will have lunch and dinner here at this restaurant, I opened a book here and every end of the month I come to pay your bill , you can eat as much as you want'. He was a guy who did a lot for me, another time I was without electricity at home due to lack of payment, with a small child and he paid my late electricity bill. We don't always train together because of the weight range, but in terms of friendship, he's a guy I can always count on, for everything, he's an unusual guy.”

In his debut in the organization, Daniel will face the American Jeff Molina in a duel valid for the flyweight division (up to 56,7kg). The fighter from Brazil comes from three consecutive victories in his career and has a record of 11 triumphs and only one setback in professional MMA.