Salt Lake City, UT – UFC heavyweight Marcos Rogerio de Lima is hoping for a spectacular win over Derrick Lewis at UFC 291 this Saturday to show his skillset is perfect for the heavyweight division.
“He’s a very explosive fighter, but in heavyweights you don’t see many skilled grapplers. You have some people that have the abilities like Curtis Blaydes, you see Jailton Almeida, but I trust myself,” de Lima told reporters including Cageside Press through a translator on Wednesday.
“I’ve been training this a lot and my grappling has improved a lot. I’m confident that if this goes to the ground I can control him. Specially because I’m a heavy guy too so I can keep him pinned down.”
Lewis’ explosive ability isn’t something that makes de Lima nervous, and he feels he’s faster and better than his opponent.
“I don’t see the quickness as much. I think I’m faster than him. I think I can do more in that sense. I think my skillset is really good for this division,” he said.
“All I have to do is be mindful of defense. Just be there, look at what’s coming, and be on offense fast. Be quick to strike.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Marcos Rogerio de Lima above. He takes on Derrick Lewis at UFC 291 on Saturday night.
