D how are you thank you for your time ah man great great great to be back only a pleasure D you were fighting in Australia again you fought in Canada before as well uh do you like do you enjoy traveling that much and being able to reach uh fans around the globe yeah absolutely I mean I'm glad I do because if I didn't I don't really have much of a choice but um I do enjoy it it's amazing uh it's a good part of of doing you know doing what I love and seeing the world
traveling the world meeting fans and people making friends and getting to know cultures from all over the world it's incredible and do you expect having the fans supporting you Saturday night well I don't expect anything of that you know expecting fans to support or Boo or it's irrelevant to me it doesn't really matter to me uh if they support me or they want me to lose I'm going to do what I'm going to do but you know I know the fans are going to be entertained and you know it's my second time fighting here in
Australia in a short time so I think I've uh I've almost you know became a familiar face in Australia and uh I really enjoyed the Australian crowd when I was fighting in Perth you know the fans weren't for for me but it was the most amazing crowd and after the fight they were cheering for me and you know because the fans come to see amazing fights and that's what I'll deliver and I can't wait to do that perfect let's talk about Shan rman uh was his name the first name was ever his name on the
on the conversation for this tile defense or other names were throw in the in the talking for this show I mean there was there was some options I mean at that stage there was so many I mean before the after the easy fight you know there was so many things that needed to happen in the middleweight division we were in a place where who's fighting next do you wait for Robert Whit and hamard and or you do the stre and rematch and immediately I mean I was happy with the rematch immediately that was the first
name given to me that was the first name and I was happy with that immediately accepted that and I was completely happy with with that to do the rematch and the rematch doesn't mean anything to me in in in a sense where on me for me I get it I just beat the same guy twice so for my legacy and resume it doesn't mean much it just beating the same guy again this time just in better fashion but to me it wasn't something that I was chasing for him it was something he's chasing obviously he's
saying he didn't lose that fight but it's more I think uh making noise to get another title fight which I can only respect but I'm not here to pick fights I'm not here to um be a Matchmaker I take the fights they give to me I was definitely after the fight with hamzad and Robert Whitaker very excited to fight hamzad I thought he was going to jump the line and that's the fight I wanted immediately but they said strictly then I said well okay then that's a fight I'm I'm happy to fight either one of
them okay that's interesting because that was supposed to be my next question like because you said you were happy with Str Strickland's name but you just said that you wanted KS out why did you want KS out because after that performance against Whit there was a lot of hype and people were going you know I'm I want to prove I'm the best in the world I've already proven that I can beat Strickland I want to I want to prove myself against the best fighters like Israel the sun that's why I wanted that fight he was
the best in the world I want to fight the best in the world Strickland is the best one of the best in the world I just think after a performance like he had against Paulo Costa versus the the performance Robert Whitaker or kamad had against Robert Whitaker Hamad deserves the T shot more and you know he's never lost it's a new it's a new opponent more exciting and I was I was excited to go out there be the first guy to beat him and show that I don't I don't have to go and beat the
same guy again I can beat the guy that people think is unbeatable uh who hasn't been beaten I wanted I wanted that but in saying that I know Strickland is an incredibly good fighter he is a dangerous dangerous man and I I take this fight so seriously it's the biggest fight of my life and it's going to be the hardest fight of my life up until this point the next fight is always is the hardest fight right yeah absolutely 100% perfect uh it interesting because Shan Strickland said something I don't recall the words but he
said something about challenging you to uh fight just striking fight no like no take Downs attempts no grappling no submission and I believe you you denied right absolutely it's not it's not that I I know I can out strike Sean streetland and I will show that but I don't make packs with contenders I'm a champion I don't make deals with with with contenders you will fight me and I will fight the way I fight you don't dictate the way I fight fair enough fair enough for sure and the your approach when you see the game
the way you approach the game did it something changed after it became the the the champion not too much you know I think uh the one thing that does change is the responsibility of being the example of what it takes to be a world champion in the gym in the Train on the training match showing the people that has trained with me over all these years you know when I was coming up the ranks even before the UFC all of them training with me every day showing them that look in the same gym same facility
same coaches for all these years you can become the best in the world and I have to be the example of what it takes being there first working the hardest training doing everything especially in that gym and showing them what it takes to be a world champion so the responsibility got more uh getting into that gym and outworking every single person in there and showing them that's why I'm the world champion and if you want to be that you can you just have to put in that word awesome beautiful words drus uh your l the
first fight against sha you won by split decision if I'm not wrong uh looking looking back to that fight what could have could have have done in order to make the the Victor clear or what can you do Saturday night to make the Victor clear yeah I think uh I was very surprised about the split decision I thought it was uh definitely unanimous but you know it is in the past and this time around do exactly what I did go forward fight my style just do it earlier don't give him that first round it's not
going to be a feeling out process for as long as it was in that first fight and be sharper you know I was Landing but it took me a while to get my timing because his defense is so so good now you know go go forward and be smarter with my strikes don't just throw be more patient but with intensity be more accurate and uh make the shots count I think that's pushing the pace from the first round to the last not waiting a around and a half two rounds to to go because I know
now that I can go five rounds full speed uh push that pace and everything I do cleaner more accurate that is the that is the the things that I think I need to uh impose and that's the things that I've been working on this past year got it uh as you know I'm from Brazil and there is something interesting for us Brazilians that the fact that Alex Pera p is going to be on Sean's Corner again and if I uh I believe yesterday Shan Strickland doing a media day he said something about Alex that Alex
hates you do you know do you think Alex hates you have you ever talked to Alex uh why do you think Shan said that like and how is the feeling of having Alex in the opposite corner I mean he was in the corner for the last fight doesn't make any difference to me uh the same for this one I don't think he hates me if he does I don't know why man you know sometimes you see people and you just don't like them maybe that's it maybe he doesn't like my face maybe he doesn't like
my attitude I don't know I don't think he hates me if he does I don't have no idea we have never spoken to each other I've asked him for a photo I think once uh I think Alex is an incredible incredible fighter one of the greatest to ever walk this Earth greatest combat athletes ever and uh I have the world's respect for him and his what he's achieved in this Sport and all the Combat Sports that he's participated in but if he hates me I don't care I have enough friends good do you see yourself
moving up and fighting F Alex pero whoever is the champion at that time was yeah eventually uh you know it it looked like sooner I want to defend about at least three times then go up but now with um how exciting the middleweight division is at this stage it looks incredible and you know it would be an honor to share the the octagon with uh and think with a fighter like Alex I mean I think the man is he's in the Hall of Fame for sure and I think it would be an honor to to
fight him and I hope by the time I'm ready to move up in in in weight that he's still there it will be be great to share that octagon perfect my last question R was um your last two fights we saw how good were you during the press conference and how do you handle the trash talk actually were you always good on on getting under people's scheme and getting on uh on their minds is that something that you you do you prepare yourself like some quotes or do you know how to get in that position
that piss them off let's say like that I don't know I mean for me I definitely don't prepare for it it's it's definitely not that I mean it's I guess you know with friends and family South Africa how we how we are we just always you know trying to get under each other's skin as friends and so we always sharp and quick with answers and sometimes you win it sometimes you lose it but it's never why I'm I able to do that like it's for me nothing bothers me nothing nothing they can say can can
get under my skin I know that for a fact there's not one thing you can say to gets on the my skin and I uh for me I'm just having fun it's it's I'm just having fun up there if you respect me up there I'll respect you but if you try and be a bully I will I'll make you regret it you if somebody Tred to be a bully you're gonna fight back right absolutely thank you very much for your time but as we always do here I'm going to let you by yourself here and
ask you please can you send a message for your Brazilian fans and maybe answer the question why they should watch your fight Saturday night uh everybody in Brazil have been there a couple of times incredible incredible players one of the you know the starting grounds of this sport you have Legends so many Legends coming from there it's an honor to fight in front of you it's it's amazing to to represent this sport we all love so much tune in this weekend like always I will promise to give you entertaining fights I promise not to jab
and te my way to Victory go out there and make it all war from the first round until the fight is over and this fight is probably not seeing the last round thank you so much for supporting
