Thiago Patient for Title Shot
Gleidson Venga Jun 9, 2010
Even though Paulo
Thiago has a stoppage win over the next UFC welterweight title
challenger in Josh
Koscheck and a 3-1 mark in the Octagon overall, he doesn’t
think a victory Saturday over Martin
Kampmann will earn him a title shot.
“I probably have more battles ahead,” Thiago said. “It should still take a while for me to have my opportunity. I will only have my chance by winning this fight and the next, so I have to concentrate on one fight at a time.”
Thiago takes on Kampmann in a pivotal welterweight bout on the main
card of UFC 115. Kampmann, ranked No. 10, is coming off a
submission win over Jacob
Volkmann on Jan. 2 at UFC 108. The No. 5-ranked Thiago also
scored a sub in his most recent bout, finishing Mike Swick
with a brabo choke Feb. 6 at UFC 109.
“Kampmann is a very tough guy, with several victories by knockout and submission,” Thiago said. “He is very dangerous. I will have to be fine tuned in combat, but I’m prepared to make a good fight. It will be a great challenge.”
“I stayed two weeks in Rio de Janeiro training with Rogério Camões and Josuel Distak,” he said. “The staff there is excellent, like Ronaldo Jacaré, André Galvão and Rafael Feijão. Everyone there is good and helped me a lot.”
Even though Thiago is focused on Kampmann, he’ll be keeping an eye on the top of the welterweight division. Champion Georges St. Pierre will defend his title next against Josh Koscheck some time after the two finish coaching on the upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Thiago is familiar with Koscheck. He stopped the AKA-trained fighter in his UFC debut -- something St. Pierre failed to do, going all three rounds with Koscheck in their first meeting. However, Thiago respects Koscheck and believes he’ll be a tougher fight for GSP the second time around.
“Koscheck is getting into a very good rhythm,” Thiago said. “He is excellent both standing and on the floor. And he's a fighter as strategic as GSP -- we saw that in his last fight. He was able to strike with Paul Daley, but he preferred the smarter strategy in the fight and was very intelligent. It will be a tough fight for GSP.”
As for GSP himself, Thiago was also full of praise. The 29-year-old Brazilian does think St. Pierre will eventually be beat, though.
“He is a spectacular fighter. He is very good,” Thiago said. “He is an excellent strategist, very good at takedowns and dominates the whole game, but sometime someone will defeat him.”
“I probably have more battles ahead,” Thiago said. “It should still take a while for me to have my opportunity. I will only have my chance by winning this fight and the next, so I have to concentrate on one fight at a time.”
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“Kampmann is a very tough guy, with several victories by knockout and submission,” Thiago said. “He is very dangerous. I will have to be fine tuned in combat, but I’m prepared to make a good fight. It will be a great challenge.”
In addition to his training in Brasilia, Thiago traveled to Rio de
Janeiro to train at X-Gym.
“I stayed two weeks in Rio de Janeiro training with Rogério Camões and Josuel Distak,” he said. “The staff there is excellent, like Ronaldo Jacaré, André Galvão and Rafael Feijão. Everyone there is good and helped me a lot.”
Even though Thiago is focused on Kampmann, he’ll be keeping an eye on the top of the welterweight division. Champion Georges St. Pierre will defend his title next against Josh Koscheck some time after the two finish coaching on the upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Thiago is familiar with Koscheck. He stopped the AKA-trained fighter in his UFC debut -- something St. Pierre failed to do, going all three rounds with Koscheck in their first meeting. However, Thiago respects Koscheck and believes he’ll be a tougher fight for GSP the second time around.
“Koscheck is getting into a very good rhythm,” Thiago said. “He is excellent both standing and on the floor. And he's a fighter as strategic as GSP -- we saw that in his last fight. He was able to strike with Paul Daley, but he preferred the smarter strategy in the fight and was very intelligent. It will be a tough fight for GSP.”
As for GSP himself, Thiago was also full of praise. The 29-year-old Brazilian does think St. Pierre will eventually be beat, though.
“He is a spectacular fighter. He is very good,” Thiago said. “He is an excellent strategist, very good at takedowns and dominates the whole game, but sometime someone will defeat him.”
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