Navajo Stirling isn’t interested in waiting around for big opportunities to come find him. The undefeated light heavyweight called his shot after watching Ion Cutelaba score a quick finish earlier this year, and now he’ll get exactly the fight he wanted when the two square off at UFC Vegas 119 on Saturday night.
Confident in both his game plan and his ability to cancel out Cutelaba’s aggressive style, Stirling believes this is the matchup that will show the rest of the division why he’s one of the UFC’s fastest rising contenders.
“We were supposed to fight earlier in the year and then something happened the way it all scheduled up. I saw he fought at the APEX two weeks prior to my fight, and he got a quick finish,” Stirling told reporters on Wednesday.
“In my head I was already thinking ahead like okay I know who I’m going to fight next. I know he’s going to say yes because he just come out of that fight with no damage. Now I’ve lined up my next pay day. I’m not afraid to call my shot. It’s all respect. Call out someone else, you know, I just want to fight. That’s how it is.”
Stirling (9-0) has a ton of respect for what Cutelaba brings to the table, but he believes the Moldovan is at his most dangerous when opponents let the fight get wild. As far as Stirling is concerned, if he sticks to his game, keeps Cutelaba from building momentum, and fights the way he always does, he’s confident he’ll leave with both the win and a statement finish.
“Ion’s like an opportunist. He’ll the opportunity if you present it to him. You really got to just shut down his momentum, not let him build, and I think the finish will present itself,” he said.
“I’m the best up-and-comer in light heavyweight. No one looks like me, no one fights like me. No one moves like me or makes the decisions like I do. I don’t make poor decisions in the cage. I fight very smart, I’m able to match the intensity of, the pacing of a fight is something that I always look at. I’ve got this guy’s number.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Navajo Stirling above. He faces Ion Cutelaba at UFC Vegas 119 on Saturday night.
