Newark, NJ — Ahead of this Saturday’s UFC 302 in Newark, where he faces Randy “Rude Boy” Brown, Brazilian welterweight Elizeu Zaleski will look to return to the win column after what he suggested was “one of the best camps I’ve done.”
Zaleski (24-7-1) is not coming off a loss, but a draw against the highly-touted Rinat Fakhretdinov back in November. As for why camp has gone so swimmingly, Zaleski noted that his weight has been on point, while the quality of training and training partners also played a role.
“I always try to improve from camp to camp, and this camp was no different,” he told media outlets including Cageside Press during Wednesday’s UFC 302 media day. “I think that we had a lot of good quality sparring partners, we had a lot of new guys coming in.”
“I was able to train a lot of Capoeira, train a lot of things like that. So I really felt like there was an evolution in this camp.”
Considering Zaleski boasts the nickname “Capoeira,” fight fans may be in store for something special come UFC 302. Capoeira is the flashy, dance-like Brazilian martial art that sees practitioners constantly in motion, with Michel Pereira often associated with the discipline (“Demolidor” actually has a karate background with a bit of Capoeira experience sprinkled in, but the the comparisons remain).
As for Randy Brown, who entered the UFC about a year after Zaleski himself, “I think he’s a well-rounded fighter, that’s what I see when I look at him,” stated Zaleski. “And I think that’s good for me, because the harder the fighter, the more complete the fighter is, that motivates me, that pushes me more.”
The Brazilian later gave his thoughts on the Newark card’s main event.
“I think it’s going to be an amazing fight,” suggested dos Santos, noting Poirier’s boxing and Makhachev’s grappling and Russian Sambo. “I’m rooting for Poirier, but I think anything can happen. It’s an amazing fight.”
Watch the full UFC 302 media day appearance by Elizeu Zaleski above.
