Junior Dos Santos (17-4) kommer att ta sig an Ben Rothwell (36-9) på UFC Fight Night 86 och har stor respekt för Rothwell som ville möta Dos Santos när ingen annan ville.
Dos Santos berättar att han har stor respekt för Rothwell, som tackade ja till matchen mot Dos Santos bara en vecka efter att Rothwell besegrade Josh Barnett (34-8).
”I respect him for that because after my loss, I told UFC and Joe Silva that I wanted to fight as soon as possible. I wanted to rid this terrible moment of my career. They were looking for someone to fight me and no one was accepting. Rothwell, who just fought Josh Barnett after like a week accepted to fight me. So I said, ’Man, this guy is a tough guy. He just fought and he accepted to fight me.’ I felt good.”
Dos Santos förklarar att hans match mot Rothwell kommer att vara tuffare än hans senaste match och en vinst över Rothwell kommer att föra Dos Santos närmare en titelchans.
”It’s a very important fight for me. Right now, I feel that this fight I have with Rothwell is tougher than my last fight. I know I had a negative result in my last fight, but if I win this one, it will put me back where I was before. Either in No. 1 or No. 2 and close to a title fight. Of course, I’m not thinking title fights, I just want to be in the best position. This is my life and I am sure I got what it takes to be the champion again. I just need to put everything in the right place, including my mind. We have to be confident. These negative moments have been very tough.”
