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Elizeu Zaleski is ready to get back on the horse when he takes on Alexey Kunchenko at UFC Brasilia
UFC welterweight Elizeu Zaleski does not want to dwell on the past too much.
After losing his first fight in over four years back in August 2019, which snapped a seven-fight winning streak, the creative striker is ready to get back on track when he meets Alexey Kunchenko in his native Brazil, at UFC Brasilia.
In an interview with Combate, ‘Capoeira’ explained he has no regrets about his loss, a TKO defeat to Li Jingliang. He says he learned a valuable lesson from the defeat: to be more patient next time he is in the Octagon.
“Every fighter should put themselves up for new challenges. For me, it was a challenge to go to China. A win or a loss are consequences. I need to go through a good camp and put on a good fight. It wasn’t my day, but I gave my best and I have no regrets. I think you learn a little from each fight. In my case, I think it was to go back to my roots, to be more patient, that’s what I tried to correct. I want to be more cautious and decisive in the fight. When you ride a big streak, you might think ahead too much and forget your roots. That’s the lesson.”
Paired up with a fellow striker who just recently lost his first fight after 20 professional wins in Alexey Kunchenko, Elizeu expects nothing but an entertaining stand-up battle, which he hopes to be a great one.
“He’s an aggressive guy. he likes to move forward, he’s a striker. He doesn’t like going to the ground, but he has good takedowns, good takedown defense, too. He has great boxing, too. We can see in his fights, even the one against Gilbert ‘Durinho’ Burns, that he kicks a lot. Surely he will try to trade shots, so it will probably be a great fight.”
Before he was TKO’d by Li Jingliang back in August 2019, Zaleski (21-6) was on a seven-fight winning streak, with victories over Max Griffin, Keita Nakamura and Sean Strickland among other names. The 33-year-old scored four finishes and three decision wins.
Now, Zeleski is expected to take on Kunchenko at UFC Fight Night 170, in Brasilia, Brazil, on March 14. The card is scheduled to be headlined by a lightweight bout between contenders Charles Oliveira and Kevin Lee.