Clearly one has to have huge kahunas and a ton of self confidence to step into the Octagon; if a fighter didn’t, it’s not likely they would last long in a sport where your opponent is trying to give you temporary amnesia from the get go (although temporary amnesia can be a good thing; particularly after drunk dialing your ex).
After Paulo Thiago’s recent ‘it’s nap time’ victory over Mike Swick at UFC 109 last month, the Brazilian welterweight’s stock continued to rise, so much so, talk that Thiago could be close to a title shot has begun. Kind of surprising really, considering that Jon Fitch beat him last summer, but the UFC seems to prefer giving new dudes cracks at the belt (hi Dan Hardy) rather than running repeats too often.
At any rate, while speaking to the Brazilian publication Tatame, it doesn’t sound like Thiago is overly confident about his chances of beating GSP right now anyways.
“I’m not worry about it yet. On the right time UFC will give me the chance. I’m getting experience, feeling more comfortable. I’m not ready yet.”
Really, judging by the way Fitch avenged Thiago’s win over AKA teammate Josh Koscheck, one would have to think that at this juncture, another elite all rounded fighter like GSP would be a huge favorite to defeat Thiago too.
And speaking of ‘Kos,’ considering he was scheduled to rematch Thiago at UFC 109 until he got injured, here’s hoping that fight gets done first. If Thiago gets by Koscheck for a second time then maybe the title shot discussion should begin no?