According to Espn.go.com, Anthony Johnson and Chad Mendes claim that Vitor Belfort and Jose Aldo are under pressure to perform in the UFC 142 Brazil event, which gets underway this weekend.
“I feel no pressure at all,” Johnson said. “I don’t have to perform in front of my home country. I don’t get nervous about what could happen. I’m just going to do what I do.”
For Belfort, the former UFC light heavyweight champion, this will be his second time fighting in the presence of his home crowd since he last set foot there back in October of 1998, when he TKO’d Wanderlei Silva in the inaugural UFC Brazil event.
Johnson, a former welterweight contender who recently moved up to the 185-lb division due to problems cutting weight, is highly aware of the threat that Belfort poses, but nonetheless is undaunted by the what lies ahead of him in the co-main event.
“Vitor is an amazing athlete, very fast hands and very powerful, and you have no choice but to respect him,” Johnson said. “I’m not afraid, and I’m willing to accept the challenge. I’m just going in to fight. There’s no strategy. It’s what’s called ‘get it done’,” Johnson said.
On the other hand, this will be the first time that Belfort’s compatriot, UFC featherweight champion Aldo, will be fighting in his homeland of Brazil under the banner of the Zuffa-based promotion.
With that being the case, Mendez, a California resident and NCAA Division-I wrestler, senses the expectation to perform rests largely on the shoulders of Aldo when they clash in the main event this Saturday weekend.
Also, as well as harboring thoughts of leaving Brazil victorious, he also feels at ease with regards to the fight itself and the hometown support that will be channeled towards Aldo.
“I have tunnel vision,” the challenger said. “I have that goal of winning that belt. It’s all I’m thinking about. I think I’m going to get booed as it’s Jose’s back yard, and he’s the champion. But I can’t speak Portuguese so I can’t understand what they say anyway. I’m in the zone and there’s not going to be any problem.”
UFC 142 is set for Jan. 14, 2012 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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