Tanquinho only had one fight in Ultimate, in February 2016. (Photo: Getty Images)
Without fighting since February 2016, bantamweight Augusto Tanquinho will return to the octagon this Sunday (15), when he faces Frankie Saenz on the UFC Phoenix preliminary card, an event that will feature a duel between B.J. Penn e Yair Rodriguez in the main fight of the night. Knocked out by cody garbrandt In his only appearance in Ultimate, the Brazilian guarantees that the lack of preparation time hindered him during the fight, but states that a victory over Saenz could put him back on the radar of the new category champion.
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“I didn't have much of a chance to show it there with Cody, although I think the referee stopped too early – he really hit me, but I wasn't out of it. I wasn't trained like I am now and I'm going to show my game better. Frankie caught two famous guys in a row, beat them Iuri Marajó, is a good opponent to show that I belong in this field and, who knows, with one or two fights, I might not get an opportunity to fight Cody again, which is something I want to do”, he stated, in an interview to the website 'Combate.com'.
Asked about his next fight, Tanquinho, world jiu-jitsu champion, believes that Frankie will avoid the ground game, and that's why he's prepared to overcome his opponent in any area of the game.
“He will respect my ground game, he likes to do the striking, he will try to fight standing up and avoid grappling a little. Maybe he'll try to take down with 30s or 40s left to stay on top with ground and pound. I'm preparing some things for him in case that happens. I'm preparing some things to see if I can fit in and reverse this situation of being knocked down. But I don't think he's going to look for the takedown from the start. It's going to be a good fight, he in his area, me in mine, we'll see who does better there.
Tanquinho, 33 years old, has a professional record with five wins – four by submission and one by knockout – and just one defeat.
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