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In a battle of heavyweight newcomes, Raphael Pessoa wants to make a statement against Cyril Gane at UFC Montevideo.
Heavyweight newcomer Raphael Pessoa wants to leave his mark in the Octagon right from his debut, at UFC Montevideo. He is paired up against muay thai specialist and Francis Ngannou’s teammate, Cyril Gane, who will also perform for the first time for the promotion. According to ‘Bebezao,’ he’s had the best camp possible for the match.
In an interview with Bloody Elbow, Pessoa also explains that he isn’t too intimidated by Gane’s background in muay thai, which includes two national championship belts, preferring to focus on his own arsenal and what he can bring to the table on Saturday night.
“You always feel some nerves before a fight, that’s normal. If you ever lose that, it’s a sign you lost the will to fight. But my preparation for the fight has been the best one possible. I don’t think he is that scary. I’ve been working a lot on my mindset. I’ve been working on my way of fighting, my technique. The same threat he poses, we will pose, too. So, I don’t think there will be much of a risk at all.”
Although he still has to make his UFC debut and wants to climb the division slowly to the top, Pessoa wants fans to be sure that he will be a name to remember in the UFC once he starts his journey. He claims he signed with the promotion to make history in the heavyweight division.
“I want to take one step at a time, but that’s our goal (to crack the top 10). First, I want to see how I do on Saturday, after that we will focus on the next fight and we’ll take whatever the UFC offers. I know the division is a little barren, but I came to make history and I will. I’ll make history in this division and this company, you can be sure of that.”
Undefeated in his professional MMA career, Raphael Pessoa (9-0) has six knockout wins, one submission and two decisions in his record. The 30-year-old is expected to take on Cyril Gane at UFC Fight Night 155, in Montevideo, Uruguay, on August 10. The card is expected to be headlined by a female flyweight title fight between the champion, Valentina Shevchenko, and former bantamweight title challenger Liz Carmouche.