Vitor Petrino believes a changing of the guard is coming to the UFC heavyweight division, and he plans on being part of it.
After showing he can finish fights and go through a three round war, Petrino sees Serghei Spivac as the kind of opponent he needs to beat at UFC Sacramento to prove he is ready for the division’s bigger names.
“I already have proved myself inside of the heavyweight division. I have a very good submission, a knockout, and my last fight was a war of three rounds. Want to show that against Spivac that I can have bigger fights inside of the division,” Petrino told reporters through a translator on Wednesday.
“I know that Spivac is a very tough opponent, but I’m very ready to show my full potential against him.”
Meanwhile, Petrino also had a message for Valter Walker, who has made it clear he wants to test him on the ground. However, while Petrino respects Walker’s grappling, he reminded him that there’s much more to MMA than jiu jitsu.
“Valter Walker, he speaks too much, he’s saying that he’s going to get my feet. I have full confidence on my Jiu Jitsu, but we are not fighting Jiu Jitsu. We’re fighting MMA. I want to see if he can handle my hands,” he said.
Petrino believes the UFC heavyweight division is changing, with new contenders rising through the ranks. He sees Spivac as the perfect test to prove he belongs in that conversation.
“I see that the heavyweight division is starting to have a new transformation. There’s new athletes coming, new heavyweights coming to the game, and I think there will be new champions showing up in a very short time,” said Petrino.
“I think (Spivac) has proven himself already in the organization. He only has defeats in the top 5 of the organization. I’m going to be showing that I’m ready flight inside of the team.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Vitor Petrino above. He faces Serghei Spivac at UFC Sacramento on Saturday night.
