Carlos Felipe feels no pressure to score his first UFC f
UFC heavyweight Carlos Felipe has yet to score a knockout in his first four Octagon outings, but does not let that fact faze him ahead of his next match. Paired up against former champion Andrei Arlovski at UFC Vegas 40. ‘Boi’ does not have finishing his opponent as a priority.
In an interview with Combate, Felipe explained that his intention is to put on a show for the fans on Saturday. Should the fight end in a knockout, Carlos says it will be a consequence of his gameplan, but not his main intention.
“There’s no need at all to get a knockout, for me. I actually avoid the pressure that people talk about because of my track record in Brazil, where I got six knockouts in eight fights. I’m not pressured, though. I don’t think that’s a positive thing. The knockout will come at the right time. If I look for it carelessly, I’ll be losing focus of my gameplan and pay the price. I like to put on a show, the knockout is a consequence. The time will come.”
Much slimmer than in his previous outings, Felipe explains that he has changed his diet in order to have better cardio and conditioning in the Octagon. Now following a more strict diet, Carlos expects to have much better performances in his future matches.
“I’ll always be chubby. My headcoach (Edilson Teixeira) is also my nutritionist and personal trainer, alongside my manager and my whole team, realized that I should be a bit lighter in order to optmize my style. That’ll improve my gas. Even my knockout power. We may think that the heavier you are, the more powerful you’ll be, but that’s not always the case. When you’re able to throw punches faster, they carry more power. There’s also the mobility improvement, so there are only advantages to this. As incredible as it may seem, I’ll be weighing almost the same as my previous fight.”
Currently on a three-fight winning streak in the UFC, Felipe (11-1) has picked up decision wins over Yorgan de Castro, Justin Tafa and Jake Collier. Before that, the 26-year-old dropped a majority decision to Sergey Spivak, in July 2020.
Now, Felipe is expected to take on Arlovski at the UFC Vegas 40 co-main event, on October 16, at the UFC Apex. The card is scheduled to be headlined by a featherweight bout between contenders Aspen Ladd and Norma Dumont.