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Felipe Lima interview: Calm, collected and ready to KO his opponent at ‘Road to UFC’

Published

September 23, 2022

Felipe Lima Fernando Flores 1 MMA Frontkick Fight Club Rush 8

Felipe Lima. Photo: Stefan Romare / Frontkick

On October 23, Felipe Lima will fight for a UFC contract on Road to UFC in Abu Dhabi.

In a new exclusive interview with Frontkick’s Jonathon Michael, the former FCR bantamweight champion opens up on the potentially career-changing bout against Long Xiao.

“I’ve been a professional MMA fighter for like almost seven years, and finally I got this chance to show Dana White that I belong to the UFC. That I deserve the UFC contract. I finally got the chance and I can’t wait to perform,” Lima says.

Even with a potential UFC contract at stake, the Allstars fighter has zero problems dealing with the pressure of the moment. With an impressive 11-fight winning streak, he knows what he’s capable of, and comes to Abu Dhabi with the intention to put on a show.

“The pressure just makes me stronger. But right now, I don’t feel any pressure, I’m very very happy, just because of this opportunity to fight in the Road to UFC. So no pressure at all, like, I just do what I do best and that’s to fight. So no pressure”, Lima says.

“Everybody knows that I’m aggressive, doing flying knees and everything. I put on a show, I give a show to the people.”

“Would be the worst mistake he can make”

Felipe Lima hopes that Long Xiao comes ready to fight on October 23, so they both can show the promotion what they are made of.

“When the opponent runs, it’s not easy. But when he comes to fight then both of you can perform, give a good fight, and maybe both can get a UFC contract.”

The Allstars fighter watched his Xiao compete on the Contender Series and has a plan on how to beat him.

“I saw some openings in his game that I’m going to work on. He is a little bit too open and when he gets pressured he tries to take you down. If he tries to take me down that would be the worst mistake he can do,” Lima says. “I’m going to pressure him and make him make mistakes. That’s my plan. And try to finish the fight as soon as possible. I think KO second round.”