JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Vinc Pichel knows exactly what Mark Madsen will set out to do, and he won’t make it easy for him.
Pichel (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) opens up Saturday’s UFC 273 pay-per-view main card against Madsen (11-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena.
Going up against an Olympic-level wrestler, Pichel is absolutely expecting Madsen to try and take the fight to the mat.
“I’m getting ready for a wrestling match,” Pichel told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “He’s not gonna strike with me much. I’m expecting him to just wrestle me the whole time, and that’s what I prepared for in the camp. I still worked on my striking, worked on my strengths, but I’ve really worked on my defensive wrestling, especially Greco.”
But Pichel is confident that he has the strength to fend off Madsen’s heavy grappling approach and plans on surprising him with it.
“Everyone that I’ve fought, you can talk to them and ask them how strong I am,” Pichel said. “I didn’t realize how strong I was until people were telling me. I have that kind of retard strength that really knows no limits, and my strength lasts, too.”
He continued, “I definitely feel like I can get a quick finish. He’s definitely gonna eat some shots. I’m expecting the first round to be like a Little Caesars pizza: We’re gonna be hot and ready. We’re just gonna come out there and start firing. That’s what I’m expecting, but after that, my gas tank is gonna take him out, and I don’t see him having much more for me after that first round.”
Check out the full media day interview with Pichel in the video above.
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