Anywhere, anytime, against anyone, at any weight class. That’s Fabio Maldonado’s mantra, and let’s face it, there aren’t many fighters like him these days. With more and more fighters picking and choosing their opponents, and with more and more fighters dropping out of bouts for strange reasons, Maldonado is a breath of fresh air, a fighter who is willing to do anything to please his bosses and give the fans what they want in the process.
The Brazilian slugger, who fights at light heavyweight, was asked by the UFC to take on heavyweight Stipe Miocic in the main event of the TUF Brazil 3 Finale on just three weeks’ notice when Junior dos Santos pulled out with a broken hand. Despite having a very short camp and taking on a much bigger fighter who is one of the top 10 heavyweights in the world, Maldonado didn’t think twice about accepting the bout.
According to UOL Sport, when UFC matchmaker Joe Silva asked Maldonado’s manager if his client would take the fight, “The Iron Hillbilly” told his representative to tell Silva, “Sure, after all I am a man.”
As fans of the sport, sometimes we take fighters like Maldonado for granted, but this article is meant to show him some appreciation for what he’s doing this weekend. Basically what happened was the UFC had no other options. They needed a Brazilian to fight Miocic, but all the Brazilian heavyweights were taken. So they went down a weight class and found a guy in Maldonado who was willing to step up to save the card. And we should all give him the credit he deserves, because Miocic is a horrible matchup for him, and it’s very likely he will receive a brutal beating in the fight.
The crazy thing is, this isn’t the first time that Maldonado has taken a bad style matchup on short notice to help out the UFC and help satisfy the fans. Back at UFC 153, numerous injuries caused a number of bouts from that card to be scrapped, including a light heavyweight bout between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Glover Teixeira. Although legendary fighters such as Rashad Evans and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua were refusing to fight Teixeira, Maldonado didn’t think twice about it, accepting the fight with Teixeira on short notice and doing everything he could to win it, despite being completely overmatched in terms of talent and skill
He was absolutely beat down by Teixeira in one of the most one-sided fights in UFC history, but he gained a tremendous amount of respect from the fans for taking that fight against Teixeira and never giving up in it, once despite eating hundreds of elbows and punches to his face. This weekend at the TUF Brazil 3 Finale, it’s very likely that Miocic is going to do the same thing to Maldonado, but hey, you have to give the guy a tremendous amount of credit for not backing down from this challenge.
I’m expecting Maldonado to lose to Miocic, and I think he’ll receive an epic amount of punishment in the bout, but it should be a fan-pleasing fight, and with all the upsets as of late, you never know what could happen. But win or lose, one has to gain so much respect for Maldonado for stepping up on short notice and saving the card when not many others would. And hopefully, win or lose, the UFC will reward him financially for his toughness, as well as give him a fair fight when he returns to 205 pounds after the bout. Regardless of how the fight turns out, expect Maldonado to show his trademark heart and grit this weekend, and expect him to become even more of a cult hero just by showing up in the Octagon and standing across from a man much bigger than him. And if he wins, the UFC just found a new star in Brazil.
• Stipe Miocic vs. Fabio Maldonado
Click the stars to rate your anticipation for this fight.
**********
UFC Fight Night: Miocic vs. Maldonado (formerly The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale: Miocic vs. Maldonado, The Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 Finale: Dos Santos vs. Miocic, UFC Fight Night: Sonnen vs. Silva) is due to take place on May 31, 2014 at Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Click the stars to rate how good you think TUF Brazil 3 Finale will be.
