Lättviktsmästaren Rafael Dos Anjos deltog förra veckan i sin första presskonferens med Conor McGregor inför deras match under UFC 197 i mars. Han berättade sedan att det svåraste för honom blir att inte smälla till irländaren innan matchen. McGregor avbröt Dos Anjos under ett flertal tillfällen, men brasilianaren lyckades behålla lugnet.
Här berättar han hur McGregors trash talk har påverkat honom, via ”MMAFighting”:
He crosses the line all the time. He answered questions the media asked me, talked about my kids, said I’m not a Brazilian. Man, all the time. He said I’m sloppy. He crosses the line all the time.
He’s here to confuse everyone, give the sport a bad image. He thinks it’s nice to dress up like a drug dealer. I don’t think that’s a nice way to promote a fight. That doesn’t add anything to the sport. Georges St-Pierre always sold well as a champion doing exactly the opposite.
Dos Anjos svarade aldrig på några av irländarens påhopp, även när det handlade om hans barn.
That bothered me, but I knew he would bring those weapons. I was ready for that. Talk about my wife, my kids, Jesus, my team. What can I do? He’s a lunatic. I will answer him on March 5. (Fabricio) Werdum called me saying ‘my friend, go get him, throw something at him, a bottle’. But that’s not my style. I will answer him when the time comes. On March 5, I will be the one doing the talk.
Många tror att McGregors trash talk påverkade de tidigare motståndarna som till exempel Jose Aldo. Dos Anjos menar dock att det inte påverkade honom mer än vad någon annan motståndare tidigare har gjort.
Every opponent gets inside my head because I think about them for three of four months. He’s in my head just like every other opponent before. I wake up thinking about him, I go to the gym thinking about him. That’s how he’s in my head. Nate Diaz pushed me at the weigh-in, but I fight ever better when my opponents make it personal. I will dominate him.
Aldo had to listen to this guy for a long time, and I will only listen for two months. I won’t have to see this guy until fight week now. I will dominate him on March 5. I’ll put him back to his place. I think I have the experience. It’s my 20th fight in the UFC. I’m not saying the others weren’t focused, but I will be calm on fight night and use my strategy because I know the victory is mine. I know this guy won’t make history over me. I’m super confident I will beat him up.
McGregor har hittills förutspått flera av sina avslut av motståndare och tror att han kommer avsluta Dos Anjos i första ronden.
His predictions have worked so far, but he only met the good side of the UFC. Everything he planned has worked so far. I’ve seen both the good and bad sides of the UFC. On March 5, I will show him the bad side of the sport. His crystal ball is blurry. He thinks he’s seeing something, but it’s going to be quite the opposite.
UFC 197 äger rum i Las Vegas den 5 mars.
