Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos Discusses His Goals for UFC 224

MMAjunkie recently spoke to UFC fighter Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos ahead of his UFC 224 bout against Sean Strickland. The fight is set for later today in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Below are some highlights.

Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos on his goals: “My goal is to get as close as I can to the top 10. I want to be among the best, among the best ranked in the UFC. I’ve had a good career. In the world rankings, I think I’m number 41 or 42. It’s not a bad world ranking, but in the UFC I haven’t yet reached the top 15. My goal is to keep battling so I take another step up the ladder.”

His thoughts on Sean Strickland: “He’s a very strong opponent. We’ve followed his career. He’s a complete fighter who knows how to use distance. He also has a good ground game, and good takedown defense. His only two losses were to very strong opponents (Kamaru Usman and Santiago Ponzinibbio). But I think there’s a lot I can explore. There are a lot of small holes in his game. I’ll look to impose my rhythm and use my experience. It will be a great fight. I’m very well prepared. And fighting in Brazil is always a positive thing, especially for us who come from here. Fighting in Rio de Janeiro was one of my objectives, especially in the UFC. I’m putting in the work, so it will be an awesome fight, no doubt.”

On what he wants after this fight: “I believe that after this fight, I should get someone who is higher in the rankings so I can make it to the top. My goal is to fight three times within a year. Unfortunately, I couldn’t fight in London. Hopefully, after fighting in Rio, I can have another two fights back to back. Anything can happen. I don’t have any specific opponents in mind. But I know I can have a great performance against anyone the UFC puts in front of me.”