Mick Parkin will face Caio Machado on Saturday and believes the fight is a good one for himself.
Parkin, who trains with Tom Aspinall, is coming off a win in his UFC debut earlier this year. He outpointed Jamal Pogues in front of a home crowd at the O2 Arena in London.
The undefeated British heavyweight and his opponent, Machado, both earned their UFC spot on Dana White’s Contender Series and they will go up against one another at UFC Vegas 82.
The 28-year-old believes the matchup against the Brazilian is a good one for him.
He said: “I think I watched him win [on] the Contender Series. I like to watch it anyway and, especially as a heavyweight, I’ll always check in because it seems the UFC likes to match Contender Series people with Contender Series people at first – it seems that way. I always watch them and see the good ones and stuff like that.
“Obviously I got the name, rewatched him and saw what he’s like. I think it’s a good matchup for me, it’s definitely dangerous because he’s unorthodox, he’s a bit of a wild striker I would say but that’s sometimes when you get caught.
“I do know the dangers of him but I’m training for every little aspect of the fight which is the way I think it’ll go. There’s going to be no easy fights now so I respect everybody and I know it’s heavyweight MMA so you don’t want to be getting caught. I definitely think it’s a favourable matchup for me though as well.”
Parkin Discusses UFC Vegas 82 Headliner Paul Craig
Craig will face Brendan Allen in a middleweight main event at UFC Vegas 82, his first headliner.
The Scotsman dropped to 185 lbs earlier this year, defeating Andre Muniz by TKO in his first outing. He now has a chance to enter himself into the top ten with a statement performance against Allen.
Parkin, who has trained with the 35-year-old on occasion, says you can never write him off due to his style.
He said: “His style, you can never write him off, can you!? His grappling is amazing, he’s been in plenty of fights where he’s looked like he’s in hot water and he’s pulled it out the bag.
“Even though he’s a mint grappler, it looks like, still, people underestimate his grappling and grapple with him on the floor! I just think they’re absolutely crazy because his jiu-jitsu is amazing!”
Mick Parkin Full Exclusive Interview
You can watch the full interview with Parkin below:
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Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
