When it comes to the sport of mixed martial arts, the fighters have to be very confident in their skills to maintain a high level of competition in the octagon.
These fighters have to be arrogant in the way they carry themselves in the ring, but sometimes that arrogance follows them into their normal life. When that happens, fighters tend to talk more than they should.
That’s what lightweight fighter Andre Winner did before his fight against Anthony Njokuani on the UFC 132 fight under-card.
Winner told MMAmania:
To tell you the truth, I don’t want to get Fight of the Night bonus. I want Knockout of the Night. I’m ready for a big war, but I’m also going out there to put him away. I want to knock him out. But again, I’m ready for anything in this fight, and will go in full force to get that “W”. I’m going out there to knock him out.
While everyone on the card wants to steal the show, it is smart to keep those words out of the opponent’s ear because they can use that as fuel. Winner is a tough, young fighter, but Njokuani has proven that he has a dangerous fighting style, and it would have been smart for Winner to go into the fight confident, but not over confident.
Njokuani is a very strong fighter, but he has a tendency to leave his chin open and get knocked out. Winner will have to use Njokuani’s aggressiveness against him by knocking him out when he gets the opportunity.
There is a lot on the line for both of these fighters, with their UFC careers both in serious question, and giving the opponent the edge in bulletin board material is one road they shouldn’t cross.
Check back for more on the UFC as it comes, and check out Bleacher Report’s Mixed Martial Arts Page to get your fill of MMA.