Saturday, November 9, 2013
GOIANIA, Brazil – It’s been 13 months and three fights since Igor Pokrajac has tasted victory, but the Croation doesn’t believe his results have proven anything other than his desire to stand and bang.
“Two of those losses – well, one no contest – I didn’t lose by knockout,” Pokrajac told MMAjunkie.com. “I lost by points.”
Pokrajac, a veteran fighter with 10 years of professional experience, has earned stoppages in 21 of his 25 wins. Yet in his most recent fight, a decision loss to Ryan Jimmo, his wrestling deficiencies left him unable to work free. It was a frustrating experience.
“There is always improvement,” Pokrajac said. “There is always something you can work on in your game. I like an open fight. I don’t like somebody just putting me on the mat like Jimmo stayed on me and like other fighters who have a plan just to win. They put me on a cage and let the judge decide the fight. I want to change that, so I did a lot of wrestling this time, and I’m not going to repeat that again.”
To improve his grappling, Pokrajac enlisted the help of the Croatian national wrestling team, and he’s also searched throughout Europe for new training partners capable of helping him to elevate his game.
“I think a big problem was I didn’t have enough sparring partners that pushed me to the limit,” Pokrajac said. “I changed my team. I have my conditioning coach. … I took my level up in fighting.”
On Saturday, Pokrajac (25-10 MMA, 4-4 UFC) faces Brazilian Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante (11-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC), a man who is certainly capable of providing an “open fight.” The Brazilian slugger has earned all 11 of his career wins by knockout.
The two meet on the FOX Sports 1-televised main card of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 32 event at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Goias, Brazil.
For Pokrajac, it could very well be a “must win” situation, as three official defeats in a row (his loss to Joey Beltran was overturned after “The Mexicutioner” tested positive for banned substances) would likely mean his release from the company.
If it is do or die, Pokrajac can take comfort in knowing “Feijao” will very likely provide just the type of contest he wants.
“I’m excited to fight on Saturday night,” Pokrajac said.
For more on UFC Fight Night 32, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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UFC Igor Pokrajac enlisted Croatian wrestling team in hopes of.....
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