Credit:Getty/UFC
After snapping a two-bout skid in his last Octagon appearance,
Wellington
Turman is focused on earning a decisive win over fellow
Brazilian Rodolfo
Vieira at UFC
270 this Saturday.
“Rodolfo is a great opponent, very good at jiu-jitsu. I respect all
the legacy he has built on jiu-jitsu, but we are going to fight
under MMA rules on Saturday,” Turman told Sherdog.com. “He improved
his striking a lot lately, but I´ve been doing that for much longer
and I have very good takedown defense, so I´m really confident to
win this one.”
Turman, who is a training partner of UFC light heavyweight champion
Glover
Teixeira and former Glory Kickboxing two-division champion
Alex
Pereira, revealed that his goal on Saturday is to avoid going
to the judges.
“Of course, my goal is keep the fight standing up, but unlike most
guys in the division I’m not afraid to go to the ground with him,”
said Turman, who has been living in Connecticut for the past seven
months. “I´m also a BJJ black belt and Rodolfo gets confused when
he is being punished, as we could see against Anthony
Hernandez. Glover and ‘Poatan’ helped me a lot in [camp]. My
main goal in that fight is to look for the knockout or submission.
I´m ready for anything.”
One of Turman’s recent defeats was a first-round KO loss to
Bruno
Silva at UFC on ESPN 25. Silva will next square off against
Pereira at UFC Fight Night 203 on March 12. Turman weighed in on
his training partner’s chances against a former opponent.
“’Poatan’ is a monster. His striking skills are elite, and his
takedown defense is excellent, too. ‘Blindado’ is dangerous. He has
pretty strong hands, but ‘Poatan’ is at a higher technical level,”
Turman said. “The aggressive game of ‘Blindado’ is perfect for
‘Poatan’s’ style, who is a master at controlling distance and a
sniper who almost never makes a mistake.