Glendale — It wasn’t supposed to be Jose Delgado headlining this year’s Noche UFC card in Glendale, Arizona.
When the call came, however, looking to recruit Delgado (12-2) in place of an injured Yair Rodriguez, the Arizona native answered. And the answer was “yes.”
Delgado’s first reaction, mind you, was something a little different, he told Cageside Press during the Noche UFC media day on Wednesday.
“I said ‘sh*t, I better get started running. I better get this cardio up,'” recalled Delgado, who headlines a UFC event for the first time this weekend. “I think that was like the first thing, being five rounds, I’ve never experienced that, I’ve never experienced that prep. And I think that was a fear that kind of played in my mind the first couple of days.”
That said, Delgado found a bit of faith to rely on. “I swear it kind of flashed in my brain so clearly, like God’s will is infinite, and I surrendered to that. Since that day, all doubt has been removed. I have fed the faith, I have starved the doubt, and I’m ready to go out there and fight for five rounds.”
If they’re required, of course. And it doesn’t seem that Jose Delgado expects they actually will be. “I don’t expect us to fight for five rounds. The way me and Jean Silva fight, the styles that we have, we are on a collision course to something spectacular. I can’t f*cking wait,” he exclaimed.
Delgado is certainly skipping the line by stepping in for Rodriguez, and his critics might argue that he’s also skipping a few steps. Delgado doesn’t agree with that assessment, however.
“Do I feel like I’m skipping those steps? No, man, I feel like I’ve taken those steps. I’ve feel like I’ve taken those steps, I’ve done the work. I’m not going in there feeling like this is too soon, this is too early. I’ve been dedicating my life to this. I’ve dedicated my life to this. This is 18 years of work in the process. This is a lifetime of work. This came exactly when it was meant to come, and I’m going to make the most of it.”
As he’s noted in advance of the fight, opponent Jean Silva, who has previously headlined a Noche UFC event, is a fighter he’s wanted to face for a while now. As to why, it all boils down to style.
“He’s a crazy motherf*cker. He’s a crazy motherf*cker and he swings. And I like it. I like it,” admitted Delgado. “I’m a fan first and foremost, man. That’s where this started. I love this game, I live this game. I like guys that do it to that level. That’s the only guys I want to fight. I believe I’m a real one in this, and I want to fight real ones. That’s what gets me excited about these guys.”
Delgado didn’t pick Jean Silva because he saw weakness, he added. “I picked him in my head as a guy I wanted to fight because he’s dangerous, because he scares me, because he gets those butterflies in my stomach. That’s why the f*ck I do this for. I love that feeling, I love that gut feeling, that gut check moment, because I’m always proud of how I answer that feeling.”
Watch the full Noche UFC media day appearance by Jose Delgado above.
