Dos Anjos will face Usman on November 30th (Photo: Reproduction/FacebookUFC)
Rafael dos Anjos He has a reserved style, with few words and averse to trash talk. However, the former lightweight champion has become accustomed to being constantly provoked by his opponents, as was the case in his recent defeat against Colby Covigton. Getting ready to fight again at TUF 28 Finale, on November 30th, in Las Vegas (USA), when he will face Kamaru Usman in the welterweight division, the Brazilian admits that he will have to deal, once again, with his opponent's talk, but emphasizes that it doesn't bother him at all.
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“That’s his style, he’s going to want to talk nonsense. This new generation, these people who are coming now, tend to do this. I'm going to maintain my posture there and leave it to do it at the time of the fight”, said Rafael, in an interview with the Combate website.
And it's not just the opponent's provocative style that will be repeated in Dos Anjos' next challenge. Like Covignton, Usman also has wrestling as his main focus, a style of play that tends to make life difficult for Brazilians. Although he recognizes the bad record against athletes in the sport, Rafael guarantees that he is ready to surprise the Nigerian.
“In my history in the UFC I had some problems fighting against wrestlers, doing the anti-game, holding back, staying there, because a guy who switches more makes it easier for me. I think that Usman is a guy who, in addition to having very good wrestling, he strikes well and trusts his striking – which I think could be a favorable point for me. And also, I can't forget where I came from, my roots, which is jiu-jitsu. I have to get more comfortable, remember, pick up habits that sometimes we forget, fighting on the ground, I know how to fight with my back on the ground too if I need to, if I fall, and have sharp submissions… I think that also his confidence, which is almost a pride of his, could be a negative point for him in this”, declared the fighter, who concluded by stating that Kamaru's pride could be a negative point for his rival.
“When a guy's confidence is very unshaken, when he has a certain arrogance, when something goes wrong in the fight, it breaks immediately, you know? The guy who has this type of mentality, he fights well when the fight is going well. Something goes wrong and he becomes desperate. I know I'm a guy who thinks I'm small for the category, that I'm weak, that this and that, that I'm running away from him. But when it gets locked in there we're going to fight, and it's a five-round fight, I have confidence in my game, I know I'm going to go there and fight with him. He’s a tough guy, but if he underestimates me it will be bad.”
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