Jeremy Stephens on His UFC Fight Night 88 Bout: ‘The Mindset Is Kill Mode’

MMAjunkie recently spoke to UFC featherweight fighter Jeremy Stephens ahead of his upcoming UFC Fight Night 88 bout with former bantamweight champion Renan Barao at UFC Fight Night 88. Barao makes his UFC featherweight debut with the fight later today on FOX Sports 1. Barao vs. Stephens will be the co-main event. Below are some highlights.

Stephens on his mindset being in kill mode: “The mindset is ‘kill mode.’ The advantage I have over Barao is that my mindset is better. I’m in a much better place than he is. He’s coming off two knockout losses, and he’s fighting a knockout artist. He’s got a lot of stuff that he has to deal with mentally. As compared to me, I have a great ‘kill mode’ gameplan, and it’s just going to be ‘beast mode.’ I’m feeling comfortable and this is in my ballpark. If people doubt and feel like I’m the underdog, which I am in this fight, it’s just going to make the win that much sweeter.”

His thoughts on Barao: “It’s fine that he’s going to be hungry. It’s going to make for a better fight because I’m 100 percent prepared. I love opportunities. Each fight is a different fight, and I feel like this is going to be my best fight to date. Stopping him or beating him up for all three rounds and winning is going to be even sweeter. It’s going to be exciting. I’m prepared for a hungry Renan Barao. It’s going to make for an even better fight. I’m 100 percent ready to go, 100 percent locked and loaded and just ready to pull the trigger.”