It was only a couple weeks ago when Trey Waters got the call from the show. Gabriel Bonfim’s opponent Felix Klinkhammer had dropped out and Waters was tapped for his shot to impress Dana White on the Tuesday night card.
Coming in on short notice against a fighter as highly touted as Bonfim, it’s no surprise that Waters will be seen as a pretty substantial underdog. However, that’s nothing new for the undefeated Florida prospect.
“When I fought in Combate Global, I fought a guy named Heriberto Tovar, that same thing happened – I was a pretty big underdog,” Waters explained. “It doesn’t get in my head at all.”
It’s easy for Waters to push all of that aside. It’s not just that he’s 6-0 and has proven people wrong time and time again. He also just understands the situation and the optics of a matched up fight. Plus, he has plenty of faith in his own game.
“I know the skills that I possess and I understand that I could be overlooked based off the opponents that I have faced. I get it. I understand and don’t take it personal,” he said. “I like it. I enjoy going in there and proving myself. Like against a guy like Ben [Bennett] – rightfully so that he was so much of a favorite,”
Against the younger of the Bonfim brothers, he looks to prove himself yet again. Although Gabriel Bonfim has plenty of submissions, Waters doesn’t envision the fight ever hitting the mat. Instead he thinks this all starts and finishes on the feet.
“I don’t believe he’ll commit fully enough to trying to take me down enough for me to get the sub,” he said. “What I think will happen is I’ll touch him and he’ll try to initiate the grappling, but he’ll realize that’s not going to be easy. So he’ll be forced to stand in front of me and I’ll drop him on his feet. I think I’ll finish him on the feet.”
The fight between Trey Waters and Gabriel Bonfim can be seen on week 7 of Dana White’s Contender Series this Tuesday. That fight will air as the co-main event on ESPN+.
You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 1:24.
