Filed under: UFC
European MMA fighters like Dennis Siver don’t often get the chance to fight in front of a home crowd. The UFC made its first trip to continental Europe just last year, and this is only the organization’s second event in Germany, where the reception to the sport has been mixed.
That’s why when Siver, a German-Russian lightweight who’s been with the UFC on and off (though mostly on) since 2007, takes on British “Ultimate Fighter” finalist Andre Winner at UFC 122 on Saturday, it’s a fight that comes with a special kind of pressure. When your countrymen rarely get to see you ply your trade, you certainly don’t want to have them pack an arena just to see you get beat up by a citizen from one of your nation’s soccer rivals.
But despite all that added pressure, as Siver told MMA Fighting through a translator this week, the irony is that he’s far less famous as a fighter when he’s in his own country.