Patricio Pitbull Noms which can dethrone Alexander Volkanovski then: “He no longer has a good chin”
Alexander Volkanovski turned around to recover the featherweight belt of the UFC with a victory over a very young Diego Lopes in April, but Patricio Pitbull does not see that “the big” has another long reign in the division.
Pitbull, a former champion with two Bellator divisions who faces Dan Ige in the main map of the UFC 318 on Saturday evening in New Orleans, expects the legend of 145 pounds to fight against a type of specific challenge in the future.
“A fight is a fight, of course, but I see that he no longer has a good chin,” said Pitbull about Volkanovski during an interview with MMA Fighting. “It is very athletic, it moves very well, has large game plants and continues to be this complicated guy to fight, land and move away, take you to the cage and hold you there, but if he fights someone who hits hard and touches it, it will be bad. Someone with this style, [like] Aaron Pico, Jean Silva. “”
Silva has a 5-0 sheet in the UFC with four knockouts and a submission and faces Lopes in the main event of Noche UFC 3 on September 13. Pico enters the UFC after nine Knockout in 13 victories under the banners Bellator and PFL, but his opinion UFC Abu Dhabi with Movsar Evloev canceled due to his opponent.
Pitbull admits that he expected Lopes to be a delicate match in the main event of the UFC 314, but Volkanovski had the perfect strategy to return to the top after two brutal consecutive defeats against Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria.
“I thought that Diego Lopes could complicate things for him too if he had pushed the pace, but the shorty made the right game, inside and from the outside, so it’s the way,” said Pitbull. “A striking guy could come out Volkanovski. I don’t think Evloev takes his title, he will not be able to damage him. It must really be someone more aggressive.”
Pitbull lost its beginnings in octagon on the same card in April with a disappointing performance against Yair Rodriguez, but is always being returned to the conversation for a gold shot with two victories.
“I don’t have time to lose,” said Pitbull. “They put me in a top 5 and now a top-12, so the path to the belt is open. We always have Volkanovski as a champion, Diego Lopes will not fight for the belt now. Jean Silva arrives, and they may fight. There is also Evloev and Pico, who also came from Bellator.
“There is also Aljamain Sterling, but these guys like to choose and he is boring, so maybe he will not fight now. Arnold Allen has just undergone surgery and recovers. Dan Ige and I are fighting now, so it’s a good time for division. [at UFC 318] And another victory, I think we could have the opportunity to fight for the belt. »»
