Rousimar Palhares file photo: Dave Mandel | Sherdog.com
Rousimar "Toquinho" Palhares faces Nate Marquardt on Wednesday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 22. Sherdog.com spoke with the Brazilian following a recent training session at Brazilian Top Team in Rio de Janeiro.
On the Marquardt matchup:
“I'm sure it will be a great fight. I trained enough for it to be, and I think he did too. It will be a great fight. [Being in a big fight] does not even bother me. I have grown accustomed to it. I know I'll get in the Octagon and give my best to achieve victory.”
On having former UFC middleweight champion Murilo Bustamante as his coach:
“The importance of it is immense. It helps me a lot, makes me believe I can win. He trains me in everything I need to improve. He shows me how I should behave. This is of great value to me. It is priceless.”
On what’s next if he beats Marquardt:
“I have to do what I’m going to do, which is win the title and be the best in the world. We are working on it and we'll see when that time will come.”
On a possible matchup with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva:
“I think everybody knows that I will get it to the ground, but sometimes things happen and for something different I [might] want to change a little. Let’s see what the fight offers. Each fighter fights each fight one way, and we build a strategy, [but] in reality we never know what we are going to do. You have to improvise at the moment.”