Fabio Maldonado: ‘I lost in the worst way possible’

Fabio Maldonado wanted a “bloodbath brawl” against a much larger Stipe Miocic at The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 Finale main event in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 31, but he had no chance against the top heavyweight.

Maldonado, a light heavyweight who agreed to replace former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos against Miocic, suffered the first knockout loss of his career in 35 seconds, and he feels terrible about it.

“That was the worst result possible. I lost in the worst way possible. Horrible. Horrible performance,” Maldonado told MMAFighting.com. “I have no excuses. If I got tired after four or five rounds, I could blame the fact that I only trained two weeks for this fight, but that was not the case. It couldn’t have been worse.”

Maldonado, who usually counters in his fights, was the first one to attack no Saturday night, and he regrets fighting that way.

“I should have listened to my corners better,” he said. “They said ‘(Miocic) traded punches with Roy Nelson, he will trade punches with you,’ but I don’t know what I was thinking. I have no excuses. Miocic landed one right hand that caught me, and it was really hard. I wanted to catch him in the beginning of the fight, but I should have fought more patiently.”

“I don’t regret taking the fight. I regret fighting the way I fought,” he continued. “I could have done better, fighting smarter. I don’t know what I was thinking. I wanted to show that I was calm and he caught me.”

The Brazilian brawler will take a week off before returning to training for his next UFC bout (at 205 pounds), and he wants to work on his boxing and wrestling in the United States.

“I have to think about what I’m going to do now,” he said. “I want to train in the United States now. My boxing is outdated if you compare it to boxers. I will probably go to Colorado or Miami to work on my boxing and wrestling. Maybe I’ll train boxing in one gym and wrestling in other place. I’m still thinking about it.”

Fabio Maldonado wanted a “bloodbath brawl” against a much larger Stipe Miocic at The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 Finale main event in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 31, but he had no chance against the top heavyweight.

Maldonado, a light heavyweight who agreed to replace former heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos against Miocic, suffered the first knockout loss of his career in 35 seconds, and he feels terrible about it.

“That was the worst result possible. I lost in the worst way possible. Horrible. Horrible performance,” Maldonado told MMAFighting.com. “I have no excuses. If I got tired after four or five rounds, I could blame the fact that I only trained two weeks for this fight, but that was not the case. It couldn’t have been worse.”

Maldonado, who usually counters in his fights, was the first one to attack no Saturday night, and he regrets fighting that way.

“I should have listened to my corners better,” he said. “They said ‘(Miocic) traded punches with Roy Nelson, he will trade punches with you,’ but I don’t know what I was thinking. I have no excuses. Miocic landed one right hand that caught me, and it was really hard. I wanted to catch him in the beginning of the fight, but I should have fought more patiently.”

“I don’t regret taking the fight. I regret fighting the way I fought,” he continued. “I could have done better, fighting smarter. I don’t know what I was thinking. I wanted to show that I was calm and he caught me.”

The Brazilian brawler will take a week off before returning to training for his next UFC bout (at 205 pounds), and he wants to work on his boxing and wrestling in the United States.

“I have to think about what I’m going to do now,” he said. “I want to train in the United States now. My boxing is outdated if you compare it to boxers. I will probably go to Colorado or Miami to work on my boxing and wrestling. Maybe I’ll train boxing in one gym and wrestling in other place. I’m still thinking about it.”