Bleacher Report’s Danny Acosta:
Rick Story isn’t worried about what’s supposed to happen on paper.
On paper, he’s nearly a 2-to-1 underdog to Thiago Alves at UFC 130 this Saturday night. The 26-year-old welterweight challenges the former 170-pound No. 1 contender at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Locking up with “The Pitbull” from American Top Team is a scary proposition for most in the division. Not for Story, who asked for the opportunity to fight the Brazilian after finding his confidence on a five-fight win streak in the Octagon.
“This fight is definitely a statement fight for me. I requested for this fight. They gave me a hand. It’s my time to jump all over the opportunity,” the southpaw told Inside the Cage ESPN 1450 Reno. “This is a fight that Alves is trying to make a statement and get his name back on the top of the list. It’s gonna be a good fight.”
Story responded to a decision loss to John Hathaway in his UFC debut with his current winning ways. The Brave Legion representative bagged $130,000 in bonus money for his first UFC victory—a back-and-forth bout with Brian Foster, which culminated in an arm-triangle choke that earned him $65,000 for Submission of the Night and $65,000 for Fight of the Night.