Maldonado on fighting Miocic up a division: ‘I’m a man’
“Simple, I’m a man. I’m not hurt so there’s no reason not to take on a challenge like this,” said Fabio Maldonado of stepping up a division to fight Stipe Miocic.
The ever excellent Elias Cepeda recently interviewed UFC light heavyweight Fabio Maldonado and his manager Alex Davis. Maldonado beat Gian Villante in March by taking everything Villante had. Then Junior dos Santos dropped out of a fight with Stipe Miocic after suffering an injury, and without hesitation Maldonado stepped in and up a division, on short notice.
The pair fight on May 31 at the TUF Brazil 3 Finale.
Maldonado, a veteran of 45 amateur boxing matches, 22 professional boxing matches, and 27 profession MMA fights offered a simple explanation for taking a fight that many fans described as crazy.
“Simple, I’m a man,” said Maldonado. “I’m not hurt so there’s no reason not to take on a challenge like this.”
“I think its really shameful if you give up while you can still fight. I was really upset when they stopped the fight with Glover. When I watched the tape later I realized that it was the right decision but I was upset that they stopped it. It is a shame to not continue to fight when you can still fight.”
“I’ll always go longer and I’ll always go further.”