Paulo Thiago weighs in on Martin Kampmann and the UFC welterweight title

Paulo Thiago will be looking to take one step closer to an elusive UFC welterweight title shot when he faces dangerous veteran Martin Kampmann at UFC 115 on June 12.

Thiago (13-1) has been off to a fast start in the UFC, notching up impressive victories against Josh Koscheck and Mike Swick that respectively earned him knockout of the night and submission of the night honors. A win against Kampmann (16-3) would put Thiago in the mix of a select few fighters at the top of the welterweight division, which is going to be looking to sort itself out over the next few months as champion Georges St. Pierre takes some time off from defending the belt to coach opposite Josh Koscheck on season 12 of The Ultimate Fighter.

Taking on Kampmann is a challenge Thiago looks forward to.

"Martin Kampmann is a complete athlete, won seven times by knockout and six times by submission, so he is a dangerous guy both standing and on the ground," Thiago told Tatame.com. "I had to train it all, I trained a lot my ground game, my boxing, my takedowns, fall defenses and a lot of Wrestling so I don't get surprised by something I didn't train."

Kampmann fought for much of his career in the middleweight division, with wins over Thales Leites and Jorge Rivera, but Thiago doesn't think size will be a factor in their fight.

"I don't believe so, he has to be on the same weight as I am...," Thiago stated. "My first six fights were in the middleweight divisions as well, so I believe that after the weight, he must come just I will do."

Although the welterweight division has been dominated for years in the UFC by familiar faces like Georges St. Pierre, Jon Fitch, Thiago Alves, and Josh Koscheck, Thiago feels the time is coming to stir things up.

"There are lots of tough guys (in the UFC welterweight division) and it seems that Jake Shields, Strikeforce's champion on the middleweight division, is coming to UFC to fight on the welterweight, do it'll be another tough one in the dispute and I'm waiting for my opportunity," said Thiago. "I try to win one fight at a time and I've been waiting for my chance, and I'll sure get one. This fight will be very tough, I'm aware of that, but I'm trying to focus only on my win... I have to win this time and wait to see what they will say."

Despite defeating Koscheck in his UFC debut, Thiago has no hard feelings that Koscheck will be the next in line to challenge St. Pierre.

"Koscheck is much more respected than I am and deserves this opportunity more than me," Thiago stated. "He has a long history, has beaten much more tough guys and will be a tough one to fight against (Georges) St. Pierre... He will get there with chances to win. I believe Koscheck is better on the trade of punches than St. Pierre and is as good as him on Wrestling... I think that the Jiu-Jitsu will be the decisive part, maybe one of them got the other... I believe Koscheck has chances, because he has great takedowns and Georges is more aggressive on his standing game."

As for himself, Thiago hopes his chance is coming soon.

"I try not to think about it otherwise it'll disturb me on my fight against Kampmann, but I think it's coming close...," Thiago admitted. "Winning this...

via mmacrypt.com

Posted via web from MMACrypt.com