There’s a stark contrast between Yorgan De Castro’s last trip to the octagon, and his upcoming fight with Carlos Felipe at UFC Fight Island 4. And it’s all about the man opposite him.
His last fight came against problematic ex-NFL star Greg Hardy. Anywhere Hardy goes, cameras, questions, and controversy follows. Hardy was run out of the league over domestic violence issues and other troubles. He’s attempted to secure a second act in mixed martial arts, with mixed results.
De Castro (6-1) suffered his first defeat in the fight against Hardy. And it’s clearly nice for him to be done with the circus that came with fighting “The Price of War.”
“I mean, that one was crazy,” De Castro admitted, noting that it was more than just the pressure of Greg Hardy being a a superstar. “All the fans and the media and everybody around like, put a lot of pressure on my shoulders. And I was the one to go out there and knock him out. Everybody wanted to see him [knocked] out.” In the end, the fight went the distance, with De Castro on the wrong end of the decision. “That was definitely a lot of pressure. I normally don’t really care about the pressure. I mean, I’m gotta fight anyway, doesn’t matter what is involved. But last time was a lot of pressure.”
This time around, against Brazil’s Felipe, the Contender Series veteran has made some adjustments. Learned some valuable lessons. Although he’s only gone back and watched the Hardy fight “probably one time,” De Castro believes he’s learned a lot from the bout.
“I know now, every fight from now on, I have to come with more than just one game plan. I have to come with a game plan A, B, C, so I gotta be able to adapt. And then put more things together. This is the big leagues, I have to be able to perform as a big leaguer.”
Watch the full UFC Fight Island 4 virtual media day scrum with Yorgan De Castro above.
