Felipe Sertanejo promises to release the game at UFC Rio 2. Photo: Josh Hedges
While José Aldo e Vitor belfort were received with applause at the open training session at UFC Rio, in Barra da Tijuca, another fighter who will be on the event's fight program was suffering from the strong Rio heat. The paulista Felipe Sertanejo, who will have the first fight of the show against Canadian Antônio “Pato” Carvalho, was running along the coast to lose the rest of his weight and reach the limit of the lightweight category.
After the activity, the athlete spoke with the SUPER FIGHTS and talked about preparing for the duel, the process to reach 70 kg, the limit for the lightweight division, and the search for his first victory in the biggest MMA organization in the world.
“This time I had more time to train, everything was much better and the process was more complete. I'm training two straight and I changed some things in preparation to get there on Saturday and put on a show”, said Sertanejo, who commented on the duel against his compatriot Yuri Marajó, in the first edition of UFC Rio, in August 2011, when he debuted in the UFC and was defeated in a unanimous decision by the judges.
“Now I’m calmer, the penny has dropped. In the other fight it took a long time for the penny to drop and I couldn't release my game. At UFC Rio I will be inside my house and it will be Brazil against Canada. The fans will be with me and I want to give this joy to my country”, said Felipe, who has already defined his strategy for the duel against the Canadian fighter
“I lost my first fight in the UFC because I messed up my game. This time I'm going to do it very differently and unleash my Muay Thai, maybe even try some takedowns and work on top on the ground. He may be a black belt in jiu-jitsu, but in MMA he doesn't have a belt and I have to work my hand on top”, analyzed the Brazilian lightweight.
the fight between Felipe Sertanejo and Antonio “Pato” Carvalho will be the first fight on the UFC 142 card, also called UFC Rio 2, which takes place next Saturday (14), at the HSBC Arena.
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