Many breaking down the fight between Mateo Vogel and Timothy Caumba this Tuesday, have noted that the two have somewhat similar styles. Both have quick hands, both shoot a nice takedown, and both have quite a few finishes.
Despite watching plenty of film and studying his opponent closely, Mateo Vogel has an open mind about what Caumba might bring to him Tuesday night.
“He might [shoot a takedown]. Like I’ve said in the past, I don’t come in here with a lot of presumptions about my opponents,” Vogel explained. “I watch them, I study them, I learn – I’ve got a very high fight IQ against anyone.”
Vogel notes that many who go in assuming things about their opponents, typically wind up in trouble. In addition, the old adage that styles make fights rings true as well.
“I’m not going in there presuming that someone is going to do XYZ,” he said. “This is a fight and, as we know, fight math doesn’t add up. The way you see him deal with somebody else, might not be the way he even deals with me.”
That open mind to the style is one of the factors that he believes will carry him to a win Tuesday and ultimately to a UFC contract. However, he also feels there’s another factor that should help decide the fight as well.
“Combat is chaotic. Combat is different everytime,” Vogel said. “It comes down to execution and that’s going to be the deciding factor… I feel like I’m going to finish him before the second round.”
You can catch his fight with Timothy Caumba on the ESPN+ broadcast of Dana White’s Contender Series – week 4. The fight card begins at 8pm EST.
You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 31:12.