While some would be fazed by facing a Brazilian in Brazil, UFC middleweight Jarod Cannonier is excited by the prospect.
Cannonier takes on former middleweight king Anderson Silva at UFC 237 on May 11 at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
There are no doubts surrounding whom the rampant Brazilian crowd will be cheering for in that fight.
Such fierce support can even be daunting for many opponents, but Cannonier is intrigued by what specific kind of reaction he will receive.
“I’m actually excited to be doing this, going into enemy territory, in a place that’s infamous for their undying support for their heroes,” Cannonier told MMA Junkie. “But that’s fine. I’m interested to see how they receive me, to be honest. Are they going to be like, ‘Anderson’s going to kick your a-s,’ are they going to be like ‘We hate you, get the hell out of Brazil, we want to see you get your a-s kicked.’
“Are they going to be like, ‘We respect you, we’re fans of you, we love how you carry yourself, but Anderson’s going to win?’ Are they’re just going to want to see a really good fight? Either way, they’re going to see a good fight. Whether they love me, whether they hate or whether they’re neutral, it’s going to be a really good fight. After the fact, they’re going to cheer for both of us.”
Completely Focused
In addition to competing in Brazil, Cannonier will be facing one of the greatest fighters of all time.
Despite slowing down and suffering setbacks since his two losses to Chris Weidman, “The Spider” is still a tough nut to crack.
He is yet to be finished since those fights, and even the most accomplished fighters can have a hard time facing the 44-year-old today. However, Cannonier is focused on the task at hand.
“People can’t really affect how I feel, how I approach things,” Cannonier explained. “All the things he’s done, I’m not afraid of anything that he’s capable of doing. I’ve already accepted that fact. I already signed on the dotted line. I already know what he can do. I’m sure he’s aware of some of the things that I can do.
“For me, I can’t go in there thinking about other things. If I’m thinking about what he’s done and how big a name he is, then that’s just me making him bigger than myself. And, from my perspective, there’s nothing bigger than me. That’s generally how I approach it. I don’t want any distractions. I have a specific goal, I’ve already visualized it, I already know what I want and I’ve got to do my best to make that happen. And if it doesn’t happen, again, I’ve already accepted that.
“We can already expect somebody’s going to win and somebody’s going to lose. Whether it’s me or not, it’s second to the fact that I love my job and I’m happy that I’m able to do this. I’m ready to be in there with the biggest name in the world.”
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