Maldonado in action at Bitetti Combat / Photo: Carlos Eduardo Ozório
Fabio Maldonado returns to the UFC octagon for the TUF 13 Finale this Saturday, June 4, in Las Vegas. Riding the wake of his victorious debut against James McSweeney last year, the Brazilian is looking to notch his twelfth-straight win in MMA against the USA’s Kyle Kingsbury. To the pugilist the formula remains the old tried and true: trust his boxing and go for the knockout.
“He’s not bad standing, but I don’t think he’s going to want to bang with me,” predicts Maldonado, delving into his opponent’s strong points, “I’m better standing but he has better wrestling. We’re pretty even on the ground, but I think I’m a bit better. The big danger comes in my thinking he’s going to do something and him catching me by surprise,” he concludes.
In his last outing in the cage Fabio Maldonado knocked out James McSweeney in the second round, putting his boxing background to work. In spite of his brown belt in Jiu-Jitsu, his fists are the first thing the former boxer goes to, saying he’s proud of his striking and doesn’t hide his preference for the style.
“I always rather trade standing. I feel I’m doing everything just right, ironing out my weaker points. I improved my takedown defense a lot and believe I can knock my opponent out.”
Kyle Kingsbury, Maldonado’s opponent, comes into the bout on a three-fight win streak, the last of which was a technical knockout over Ricardo Romero at UFC 126.
