Brazilian featherweight Joanderson Brito was supposed to clash with Dan Ige in July, but we all know how that fight played out: it didn’t.
Brito (17-3-1) pulled out of the fight with a leg injury, and Ige was rebooked with Chepe Mariscal only to be pulled from that match-up to help salvage the UFC 303 card, brought in on mere hours’ notice the day of the fight to face Diego Lopes. Brito, who had been scheduled to fight just weeks later originally, instead had to heal up- and watch Lopes, who he holds a win over on the Contender Series, earn himself a spot in the running for Fighter of the Year.
The win over Lopes has aged particularly well, though Brito believes the UFC has maneuvered Lopes to the top of the featherweight division.
“I think it shows a little bit of what I’m capable of doing, and I think Diego’s in the top three because the UFC worked on putting him there,” Brito exclaimed during this week’s UFC Paris media day, ahead of a fight with William Gomis. “In all reality, I’m the champion of the division, I just haven’t had the chance to fight for it.”
If that seems at all dismissive, Brito didn’t seem to think much of his upcoming opponent, Gomis, either. “To be honest I don’t think he’s that much, nothing special. He’s just going to be another guy that I’m going to take down.”
Gomis has claimed that he’s going to make it look easy against Brito, and for that, the Brazilian had a response.
“In reality, I know what’s going to happen, all of you in the media knows what’s going to happen, the UFC knows what’s going to happen, even his team knows what’s going to happen. But when it happens, he’s going to realize he wasn’t prepared for it.”
Watch the full UFC Paris media day appearance by Joanderson Brito above.
