Nigeria’s latest contender in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Kennedy Nzechukwu is blowing hot ahead of his clash with light heavyweight weight top notch, Danilo Marques on Saturday.
Megasportsarena.com reports that, although Nzechukwu was called in as a late replacement for Ed Herman, Marques’ original opponent, the fast-rising UFC challenger insists he is good enough to snatch an upset win.
With that target in mind, Nzechukwu went on to declare that he is not afraid of Marques and he is ready to confront the favourite fighter, who is renowned for his ground game tactics.
Heading into this Saturday’s bout on Fight Night 190, Nzechukwu (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) has stepped up his training efforts, as he aims to improve on his usual vicious striking acumen, in order to overcome the grappling specialist.
Masques (11-2 MMA, 2-0 UFC) has all odds going in his favour for the light heavyweight bout at UFC Apex and many pundits have warned that it would be in Nzechukwu’s best interest to keep the fight standing, not on the canvas.
Both fighters were at their eloquent best when Nzechukwu attended Fight Night 190 media day on Wednesday and the Nigerian ace discussed making adjustments from his win over Carlos Ulberg at UFC 259.
Nzechukwu told MMA Junkie: “I know I haven’t had the chance to show my takedown defense, but I do have good jiu-jitsu and takedown defense.
“Wherever the fight goes I’m willing to go there. Just more pressure, more aggressiveness and not walking through shots, but utilize my movement and get him out of there, whether it takes one, two or three rounds.
“I’m willing to show my ground game. Definitely I don’t want to give him the easy road to victory, so I’m going to stuff all the takedowns and try to make him work harder.
“The longer it goes, I know it’s definitely good for me with my cardio, but I’m going to display all my skills wherever the fight goes.”
