Cage Titans 57’s Joe Giannetti on Opponent Issues, Getting Almeida

Since his stint on the Ultimate Fighter and subsequent cup of coffee in the UFC, Joe Giannetti has been on the journey to get his spot back on the roster. However, along with the usual ups and downs of that journey, ‘Skeletor’ has had to deal with an invisible opponent – pullouts. Despite a desire to fight high level opponents, he just seemed not to be able to get the opponent in front of him that would prove he’s ready for his second shot.

“It sucks, man, because it’s one of those thing where a few years back, people would say that I don’t fight anybody good,” Giannetti said. “I know the UFC wants to see me fight somebody good and I’m offering and trying to fight these good guys, and they just don’t make it to the cage.”

These opponent issues have varying reasons – from failed weight cuts to injuries. From commissions stepping in to fighters not accepting catchweight fights. Whatever the reasons be, Giannetti has resolved to forget about all that and just take care of business.

“I know there are millions of fighters out there like ‘nobody will fight me’, so I just sound like another one of them, but it is something that I deal with,” he said. “So now, whoever gets in the cage, gets in the cage, and we fight them.”

But just as Giannetti had decided to not worry about these things anymore, it seems to have fixed itself. Cage Titans called him with a big name.

“That was like Christmas came early. [Saul Almeida] was the name that I needed. That’s the win I need on my resume,” Giannetti said. “I think that if I beat him, there’s not much more you can really say.”

So now with that Christmas gift in front of him, he’s got his plan to finally get back to the top spot – a plan he’s sure will come through.

“I make 155lbs, I put Saul Almeida away, there’s really not much more of a case to make,” he said. “It’s just when they decide to sign me and who they put in front me to beat.”

Joe Giannetti defends his Cage Titans lightweight title this Saturday against Saul Almeida. Cage Titans 57 can be seen on Spectation Sports PPV.

You can hear the entire audio of this interview below at 2:09.