Francis Carmont har en UFC-match bakom sig. Han gjorde sin UFC-debut på UFC 137 i en match mot Chris Camozzi som han vann via ett enhälligt domslut. Nästa match kommer att vara mot UFC-debutanten och svensken Magnus ”Jycken” Cedenblad på UFC: Sweden den 14 april. Inför det här så satte sig Carmont ner med MMAnytt för att diskutera hans kommande match, hans motståndare och tankarna på MMA-communityn i Frankrike.
– Magnus is a solid fighter with good striking, säger Carmont till MMAnytt.se. It’s going to be a hard fight, but I’ve trained well for it. I’ve seen two or three of his fights. He is big, 6’3″ and he’s definitely a tough guy. His height will definitely make it harder for me, but the same goes for him. Camozzi was the same height as me. Good ground, good standup, good knees. But I do see weaknesses, though I can’t go into them now. The fans will just have to see on April 14th. We all train hard and I know he will come ready.
Det som Carmont har däremot är ett hemligt vapen, UFCs welterviktsmästare Georges St-Pierre.
– GSP is my friend. He’s not training now, obviously, because of his knee, but he’s in the gym helping me prepare. I’m friends with a friend of GSP and George invited me to come train with him. And they say, if you want to be the best, you need to train with the best. GSP is going to be with me in my corner in Sweden.
Till skillnad från Sverige så är inte MMA lagligt i Carmonts hemland Frankrike. Han hoppas däremot på att det kommer att bli lagligt en dag, och ser den kommande matchen mog Magnus som en möjlighet att visa fans varför det borde bli lagligt.
– People are not very open to MMA in France, but they need to open their eyes. It’s a real sport with rules and professional athletes. The referees are there to protect the fighters. MMA has been around for long and we just need to educate the population. Eventually, I think that it’ll come. It’s really cool to get to fight in Europe, period! I’m sure I’ll have some supporters. And I like to fight a person from the home country. I fought in Sweden 2005 October 8th with Gregor Sakuboski. It’s a beautiful country! Thank you to all the Swedish fans and to MMANytt. I’m looking forward to seeing you in Sweden!
Innan vi skiljdes åt så passade jag på att kasta in en fråga om oddsen som nu dykt upp för UFC: Sweden där det visade sig att Carmont var favoriten i matchen.
– I don’t believe Magnus is an underdog. We all train hard and I know he is too and he will come ready on the 14th, säger Carmont med ett leende.
