Gesias Cavalcante ignores potential title shot heading into WSOF 11 bout with Melvin Guillard

A shot at the World Series of Fighting lightweight championship is on the line in Gesias Cavalcante vs. Melvin Guillard, but the Brazilian is not thinking about it heading into his WSOF 11 fight with the UFC veteran.

Cavalcante, a two-time K-1 Hero’s tournament winner, won’t let a possible shot at the gold change his focus at Saturday’s WSOF card in Daytona Beach, Florida.

“My motivation is the fight, not a title shot,” Cavalcante told MMAFighting.com. “I see every fight as a title for me now. I was supposed to fight for the title after my last fight but I got injured. We never know what might happen, so I’m only focused on this fight.

“I fight since I was 4 years old, this career chose me. I do this my whole life, it’s kind of natural for me. Every fight is an opportunity to get better as a person, to know my limits and work on my spiritual side. That’s part of my life.”

Guillard was released from the UFC after only two wins over the past eight fights, with some disappointing performances, but that’s not the opponent Cavalcante is hoping to fight Saturday.

“I hope I fight the best Melvin Guillard in there to test my limits and have a good challenge,” he said. “I’m training for the best. Every fighter does his job. I can only control my part, so I’m training for the best Melvin he can be. He has a big name, was a huge star in the UFC for years, so I’m a good opportunity for me to show my work and what I can do.”

Coming off a TKO victory over Tyson Griffin in his last WSOF bout, “JZ” wants another finish.

“It’s always good when you finish someone,” the Brazilian said. “When I first started training, my Luta Livre coach always told us to fight for the finish, not for points. That’s the mindset of the Luta Livre, to go in there and finish your opponent. That’s my goal in every fight. Every time I go to a fight, my goal is to finish my opponent. If I can go in there and end the fight in two seconds, I will end the fight in two seconds.”

Cavalcante is not worried about the title, but the fact that he’s going to challenge the WSOF champion with a win makes him pay attention to the WSOF 11 main event, where Justin Gaethje puts his 155-pound title on the line against undefeated star Nick Newell.

“I would like to fight both of them because they are great athletes,” he said. “I have a history with Justin because of that fight that was stopped (in 2013), and Nick is inspiring. He’s motivational. The fact that he fights and has great performances with his condition is so cool, so I admire that.

“Who wins the title? Well, that’s a good question,” he continued. “They are both great athletes. Nick likes to surprise people, so it depends on how Justin performs. It’s hard to say who’s winning since they both have a great chance. It depends on how they’ll fight on Saturday.”

A shot at the World Series of Fighting lightweight championship is on the line in Gesias Cavalcante vs. Melvin Guillard, but the Brazilian is not thinking about it heading into his WSOF 11 fight with the UFC veteran.

Cavalcante, a two-time K-1 Hero’s tournament winner, won’t let a possible shot at the gold change his focus at Saturday’s WSOF card in Daytona Beach, Florida.

“My motivation is the fight, not a title shot,” Cavalcante told MMAFighting.com. “I see every fight as a title for me now. I was supposed to fight for the title after my last fight but I got injured. We never know what might happen, so I’m only focused on this fight.

“I fight since I was 4 years old, this career chose me. I do this my whole life, it’s kind of natural for me. Every fight is an opportunity to get better as a person, to know my limits and work on my spiritual side. That’s part of my life.”

Guillard was released from the UFC after only two wins over the past eight fights, with some disappointing performances, but that’s not the opponent Cavalcante is hoping to fight Saturday.

“I hope I fight the best Melvin Guillard in there to test my limits and have a good challenge,” he said. “I’m training for the best. Every fighter does his job. I can only control my part, so I’m training for the best Melvin he can be. He has a big name, was a huge star in the UFC for years, so I’m a good opportunity for me to show my work and what I can do.”

Coming off a TKO victory over Tyson Griffin in his last WSOF bout, “JZ” wants another finish.

“It’s always good when you finish someone,” the Brazilian said. “When I first started training, my Luta Livre coach always told us to fight for the finish, not for points. That’s the mindset of the Luta Livre, to go in there and finish your opponent. That’s my goal in every fight. Every time I go to a fight, my goal is to finish my opponent. If I can go in there and end the fight in two seconds, I will end the fight in two seconds.”

Cavalcante is not worried about the title, but the fact that he’s going to challenge the WSOF champion with a win makes him pay attention to the WSOF 11 main event, where Justin Gaethje puts his 155-pound title on the line against undefeated star Nick Newell.

“I would like to fight both of them because they are great athletes,” he said. “I have a history with Justin because of that fight that was stopped (in 2013), and Nick is inspiring. He’s motivational. The fact that he fights and has great performances with his condition is so cool, so I admire that.

“Who wins the title? Well, that’s a good question,” he continued. “They are both great athletes. Nick likes to surprise people, so it depends on how Justin performs. It’s hard to say who’s winning since they both have a great chance. It depends on how they’ll fight on Saturday.”