LFA are returning on Friday 12th July as they host LFA 188. LFA 188 will see the bantamweight title on the line as John Sweeney will be looking to defend against Rafael Do Nascimento. John Sweeney is currently on a 7 fight-winning streak and clinched the title last time out. This was against Allan Begosso when he was able to get a unanimous decision victory. His opponent Rafael Do Nascimento is coming into this fight after getting a victory against Jordan Winski. This victory came due to a unanimous decision victory. Combat Sports UK has had the honour of interviewing fighters before their fight to get an insight into how they feel going into the fight. Combat Sports UK was able to speak to Stanley Dorsainvil ahead of his fight against Cedric Katambwa.
Stanley Dorsainvil is coming into this fight as an undefeated prospect including his amateur career. Stanley Dorsainvil was able to defeat Joao Guerra in the first round due to a guillotine choke. He will be facing Cedric Katambwa who is coming in as a 4-0 prospect. Cedric was successful last time around when he defeated Bret Cooper in the 2nd round.
Stanley Dorsainvil on His Training Camp
Fighters before they go into a fight will go into a training camp to prepare for the upcoming fight. This is so they can prepare to fill in any holes in their game as well as work on any holes of their opponents. Having a successful training camp is essential to having a good fight. With this in mind I asked Stanley how he thought this training camp had gone. Stanely explained by saying;
“Pretty good, learned a lot of skills and touched up on the ones I had before. Of course, there were a couple of hiccups here and there but it wouldn’t be a camp if there weren’t.”
Stanley feels he has had a good camp to be able to show his best going into the fight on Friday evening. Stanley has been able to practise his skills and make sure he is showing everyone the best version of himself. While there were a few hiccups throughout the camp he doesn’t believe it would be a proper camp if there weren’t any.
Weaknesses From Cedric
During his training camp, he will be watching tapes to find out what he can exploit from Cedric during his fight. I was curious to see what he had seen from Cedric. Stanley explained what he saw when he said;
“He’s pretty good all around by the looks of it but we haven’t seen him grapple in the open too much as well as he seems to fight at a slower aggression/pace definitely gonna use that”
Stanley will be looking to use his grappling to his advantage to be able to get the victory on Friday evening. Stanley doesn’t believe he has been tested in this area much throughout Cedric’s career and believes this could be a weakness in his game which he can use to his advantage. He has also seen him using a slow pace so trying to quicken things up may help him find success as Cedric may not be able to react in time.
Who Is Next for Stanley Dorsainvil?
Fighters may know who and when they want to fight next after they are able to get the victory in a particular fight. A fighter may want to remain active and may be looking to get on a particular card depending on the damage they take. I was wondering if there was anyone Stanley was looking to face off against next and if he had anything in mind on what is next. Stanley explained his plans when he said;
“Nobody in particular to be honest, but I do wanna be active maybe run it with all the dues who declined to fight me before this guy”
While there is no one in particular he would like to face off against he would like to show everyone he has faced when they were right to decline the fight. Stanley doesn’t appreciate these fighters declining the fight and would like to run it back with them. However, he did say he doesn’t have anyone in particular so will wait and see who LFA come up with next and will face whoever is willing to fight him next.
How Does Stanley Dorsainvil See This Fight
Fighters will be coming into the fight with a certain idea of how the fight is going to go. This may not be exactly how it will go as anything can happen on the night but a fighter will have a rough idea of how the fight will go in the end. Stanley Explained how he thought this fight against Cedric would go and asked if he had a prediction Stanley explained when he said;
“It’s gonna be a banger he has skills that catch me I can catch him but I think I can get the second-round sub”
Stanley believes he needs to be careful in this fight as Cedric definitely has power in his hands. However, he also believes this is the same for himself as well and Cedric needs to watch. However, Stanley doesn’t believe this fight will need the judges as he will be able to get the stoppage in the 2nd round. Stanley believes this fight will eventually head to the ground either by a takedown or a knockdown and from there Stanley will be able to use his grappling ability to be able to get the submission.
Toughest Test
Cedric is coming into this fight with the best record from the fighters Stanley has currently fought before. I was curious to see if Stanley believes that this fight coming would be his toughest test yet as a fighter. Stanley may have been other fighters as being stronger even though they don’t have as impressive of a record. Speaking about this Stanley explained;
“Most definitely, He is going to make it fun.”
Stanley agrees that this fight coming up is definitely his toughest test yet. Dorsainvil believes Cedric’s power will definitely make this the toughest test as well as a fun fight for the fans to watch. Stanley will have to watch if he doesn’t get caught and see if he is able to take this fight to the ground to test Cedric’s ground game. If both fighters come into this fight and fight how they would normally fight then there is no doubt this is going to be a fun fight to watch for the fans in attendance and at home.
Improvements since Turning Pro
I was curious to see what improvements Stanley has made since he transitioned from the amateur scene to the pro scene. While only moved over in January 2023 I was still curious to see if there was anything in particular he has learned or improved on since the move. Explaining what he has improved on Stanley explained;
“I think my fight IQ has improved a lot since my amateur days.”
Stanley believes that his fighter IQ has been the thing which has improved a lot. Fighter IQ is essential to be able to go out and get the victory. This is due to the most little of mistakes could give your opponent the small margin to get the victory. Stanley being able to go out and improve this can only help him as he looks to get more victories and improve to eventually get signed into the UFC. Fighter IQ is a massive part and even with Stanley not being a pro for long this can only improve.
Call up to the UFC
The goal for every fighter is to eventually make it into the UFC and clinch the UFC title. Stanley is currently a 2-0 prospect with both victories coming due to a stoppage. This victory on Friday will be a big opponent to have on his record. It will definitely help him push for an opportunity on the biggest of stages. I was able to ask Stanley if he thought he was close to getting a shot in either the UFC or Dana White’s Contender Series. Explaining what he thought he explained;
“I feel like if I keep going what I’m doing I get 2/3 fights I’m gonna end up there”
Stanley doesn’t believe a victory on Friday will get this call up however, he does believe it is close. Stanley believes just a few more victories on his belt will be enough to get him this opportunity. However, Stanley still needs to put in the work and make sure his fights are stoppage victories and victories nonetheless.
Titles Won
Throughout his time on the amateur scene, Stanley has been able to get some titles under his belt. This included the XFN Title and the ROAW title. I was able to ask Stanley how it felt to be able to get his hand raised to be able to clinch the title and then how this helped in progress as a fighter moving forward. Speaking about this Stanley said;
“It was amazing at the time and it got my name bigger in Florida but it’s even better starting at the bottom again. My coach always said “Every pro was once an amateur champion” and while that experience helped me grow in my composure and skill I had to almost restart as a professional”
Stanley has admitted it felt good to be able to go out and become the champion. Being able to become a champion has allowed him to get his name bigger in Flordia to be able to get bigger fights for him to test himself. However, now he is a professional he has had to restart back as a professional. His coach told him about how he will be facing amateur champions in every fight now and he has had to go out and try and build that reputation back up once again.
Pressure on Fight Week and Pressure from Fans
As MMA fans we are looking for fighters to be able to give us highlight-reel knockouts. Like the one Max Holloway was able to produce back at UFC 300. However, this is not always the case as a fighter may need to make sure they don’t lose it in the last round or the opponent isn’t giving them this opportunity. I was able to ask Stanley how he dealt with fans expecting this every time he entered the cage as well as the pressure fight week brings all together. Speaking about this Stanley said
“I just think of it as a recovery/weight cut week have fun and take the feelings as they come. Fans don’t affect me but I myself always try and get a finish anyway.”
Stanley tries not to think of the fight week as fight week however, a recovery week to try and keep his emotions in check. He is trying to have fun during that week and if any feelings come he will deal with it as it comes. When it comes to the pressure from fight fans he doesn’t feel any pressure from that. This is due to his always wanting to get the stoppage victory anyway.
Featured image credits to Embed From Stanley Dorsainvil Instagram
