UFC featherweight Diego Brandao has surprisingly left the renown camp of Team Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA ahead of facing Irishman Conor McGregor in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Dublin on July 14.
The TUF 14 winner spoke with Ariel Helwani yesterday on The MMA Hour, it was revealed that Brandao (18-9) had not left the Albuquerque based team for good, but for this bout has opted to join UFC veteran Pete Spratt and Rodrigo Pinheiro in San Antonio, Texas.
“Greg Jackson always leaves the door open to me, always believed in me, (and also) Winkeljohn, but this time I had different plans,” Brandao said on last Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour.
“I don’t wanna talk about it. I wanna just do this camp in San Antonio. Greg Jackson knows what I’ve been doing, and Greg Jackson and Winkeljohn know the reason why I’m here, so they said ‘if this is what you want, go ahead. We’re here for your next camp.’ Next camp I will be there, but for this camp I wanna improve something, and this camp has to be here in San Antonio.”
The wild Brazilian is 4-2 in the UFC, and made a name for himself on The Ultimate Fighter with fearsome knockouts and high intensity. However, the 27-year-old has had a number of less impressive performances since joining the UFC ranks, where he’s received criticism for a lack of cardio and discipline. Discipline in particular will be required for almost every fighter heading into a fight with the charismatic McGregor. Brandao hinted that a well conditioned mind is something he takes seriously, and that fighting in hostile territory will not hinder his performance.
“My mind is in another place,” he said. “My tactic is different right now, and my tactic is to go down there and put a great show for the UFC in Ireland, come home and train again. I’m very excited to put a great show for all the people who bought tickets.
“This fight is very important to me because I’m working my mind, working my head, so I know what I can do and I know that the only way to beat this guy is the way I’ve doing my whole life: never stop training, always fighting forward. And I wanna thank Conor again for giving me the opportunity of fighting a big star that he is.
“I’m from Brazil. I came to the United States and fought a lot here, so it’s like the same. My home now is here in San Antonio, Texas, so basically I don’t have issues to fight in another country. UFC puts me more out there. It’s exciting. I love it.”
For many the temptation to engage McGregor in pre-fight trash-talk would be hard to resist, however Brandao is at a point in his career where rivalry takes a back seat, and personal development is first and foremost following a first round TKO loss to Dustin Poirier at UFC 168 last December. Since then, the Brazilian suffered two fight cancellations before replacing the injured Cole Miller and stepping in to fight McGregor.
“Who has a mouth talks whatever they want. I can’t go there shut his mouth with my hands, this is impossible,” he said. “I think it’s disrespectful to go there and try saying something. If he says something, he’s a grown man.
“I don’t care about Conor. This fight is about me, to prove to myself who I am because in the last fight everybody said ‘oh Diego is done.’ Everybody knows how is fighting, it’s up and down, but I’m going up. TUF 14, Diego Brandao is back. It’s the only thing I’m going to say. I can’t (talk) about Conor, he’s already a superstar, and everybody knows him.”
Photo: Mark Blundell
