Abel Trujillo Doesn’t Mind Being A Sleeper

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Abel Trujillo (15-6 MMA, 6-2 UFC) spoke about his three-fight undefeated streak, which he’ll try to keep going when he fights James Vick (9-1 MMA, 5-1 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 104 this Saturday. Here are highlights:

On flying under the radar: “I’m not worried about (respect). I like being a sleeper. After this win, it’ll be four in a row and all of a sudden people will be like, ‘Hey, he’s on a four-fight winning streak.’ I don’t mind being the sleeper. It is what it is. But I do plan on making some noise here real, real soon.”

On switching from Evan Dunham to Vick: “I like the matchup either way – I’ve been training hard, so the opponent doesn’t really matter at this point. Evan Dunham was a southpaw, and a little shorter. Vick is a lot taller – 6-(foot)-3. But at the end of the day, when you’re ready, you’re ready. I was ready to fight and put on a great performance. I’ll still fight him. I wanted to fight someone in the top 15, and he was ranked 14. I think he’s a good opponent, but as long as I get somebody in the rankings, I’m not being picky.”

On looking for a knockout: “I see this fight – it’s going to be brutal. I’m going out there for a knockout, but I’m not going to be reckless. That’s just my style – I go for the kill. You can always expect for me to hurt this guy as bad as I can.”