Considered to be a natural light heavyweight, Bruno
Henrique Cappelozza was not among the favorites to make the
Professional Fighters League playoffs, but after a 46-second
knockout of Ante Delija,
the underdog Brazilian is first in the heavyweight standings.
Even in the event of a loss to Muhammed
DeReese at PFL 6 on Friday, Cappelozza has a great chance to be
among the final four heavyweights in the playoff bracket come
October. The 32-year-old Corinthians MMA product revealed to
Sherdog.com what it was like to return to active competition after
a nearly three-year absence.
“It was certainly the most difficult time of my career,” he said.
“I went through a very hard time with a long series of injuries and
surgeries, but God blessed me with that invitation to the PFL.”
Cappelozza is confident heading into his matchup with DeReese, who
is coming off a first-round TKO defeat at the hands of Denis
Goltsov at PFL 3 on May 6.
“My record shows how aggressive I am. All my 11 wins have come via
knockout. I fight to kill, never to win via decision. My opponents
can always expect a war and next Friday will be no different,”
Cappelozza said. “DeReese is a very dangerous opponent and heavy
puncher. I trained a lot here in Las Vegas with Ray Sefo for
that fight. I’m aware that I’m going to need feints to neutralize
his game. But I´m pretty well prepared to have another great
performance in that fight and reach the playoffs.”
Cappelozza believes that Goltsov, Brandon
Sayles and Renan
Ferreira are the heavyweight competitors most likely to join
him in the PFL playoffs after defending champion Ali Isaev
withdrew from the season.
“Heavyweight is always a lottery. One punch can change everything,
but in my opinion those three have the best chances,” he said.
Prior to signing with PFL, Cappelozza squared off against current
UFC light heavyweight contender Jiri
Prochazka, falling via first-round knockout under the Rizin
Fighting Federation banner in July 2018.
“I always dreamed of fighting in Pride. It was one of the hugest
emotions of my life to fight in a packed Saitama Arena against
Prochazka,” Cappelozza said. “I knocked him down in the very
beginning but made the mistake of exchanging punches and he landed
a nice one that decided the fight.”
Cappelozza is aware that Prochazka is one of the leading candidates
to face the winner of the light heavyweight title bout between
Jan
Blachowicz and Glover
Teixeira at UFC 266. The Brazilian believes his former foe has
what it takes to defeat either man and is destined to eventually
capture UFC gold.
“I see Jiri as the favorite against both, but he may have a tougher
time against Glover, who has great takedowns,” Cappelozza said.
“Jiri´s weak point is fighting with his back on the canvas. But it
is also very difficult to keep him on the ground. So I truly think
Prochazka will be UFC champion.”