Ricardo Carcacinha says he is ready to cancel Tukhugov's game and projects a knockout over the Russian

R. Carcacinha enters into action UFC 267 (Photo: Instagram/UFC)

This Saturday (30), at the UFC 267, Ricardo Carcacinha faces Zubaira Tukhugov in a duel that should have taken place in March this year, but was canceled due to an injury suffered by the Russian.

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Since then, the Brazilian had another fight scheduled and cancelled, contracted Covid-19, entered the octagon against Bill Algeo, achieved victory and, after all this, is preparing to finally measure strength against Tukhugov, who has not fought since September of last year.

In an exclusive interview to SUPER FIGHTS, Ricardo Carcacinha celebrated the fact of finally being able to face Zubaira Tukhugov after so many unforeseen events.

“The first fight fell through, the opponent changed, I got Covid, they rescheduled the other fight (against Bill Algeo) and now we return to Zubaira. It was a journey to get to this moment and be able to fight with him. Thank God everything went well, the camp was good. I'm very excited about this fight and I can't wait for the day to come, fight this fight and complete this mission”, celebrated Carcacinha.

Defeat on the first visit to Ilha da Luta

the fight against Zubaira Tukhugov marks the second showing of Ricardo Carcacinha on Luta Island, in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. In his debut at the venue, in September 2020, the Brazilian ended up being knocked out by Lerone murphy, but promises that he has prepared himself and is ready to leave a new impression.

“That fight was very atypical. The whole situation, in the middle of the pandemic. We fought at dawn. I remember that by the time I got back to the hotel it was already dawn. The situation was completely different. The victory is the merit of my opponent. He was happy with his strategy, congratulations to him. Unfortunately I didn't get what I wanted, but I learned my lesson. We never lose, we always learn. The gym is the place we use to evolve all the time. This is the role of the coaches, of the team. All the time seek evolution. After this fight I improved myself, I did my best to get here by being another Ricardo, not the same one who came here on the last Fight Island”, promised the Brazilian.

Plans to nullify Tukhugov and knockout dream

Carcacinha's opponent, Zubaira Tukhugov He is going through a bad phase in the UFC, with just one victory in his last four fights. Despite recognizing the Russian's qualities, the Brazilian says he is prepared to impose his game, nullifying his rival in any sector of the fight.

“He’s a guy who repeats the same game. He doesn't do many different things, but he's good at what he does. It's difficult to know which game will nullify the guy, but we'll feel it during the fight. I'm sure that jiu-jitsu is a tool, wrestling is also a tool that I have, I have striking too. I try to catch everything he does and, imposing my game, cancel it out. We worked a lot on takedown defense, but we also worked on more offensive jiu-jitsu with our backs to the ground, trying to get submissions from below to make his job more difficult,” said Carcacinha.

Despite being prepared to fight with his back on the ground, Carcacinha's prediction for the outcome of the fight is a victory by knockout.

“I think it ends with a knockout. I've been dreaming a lot about a knockout from a counterattack, a counterattack. I think this is a good guess”, revealed the Brazilian from Team Alpha Male.