Francisco Trinaldo Doesn’t Believe in Favorites or Underdogs

Francisco Trinaldo spoke with MMAjunkie about his fight with Yancy Medeiros at UFC 198. Some highlights are below:

On training for the fight: “As I always say, every fight is the fight of my life. I put everything into training as if it was the last fight of my life. I train to always face the best. Right now, the best in our weight class is a Brazilian (champion Rafael dos Anjos). My fight with Ross Pearson was good, but I’m confident I could have done even more. I was too cautious. I didn’t let my game fully go, the way I trained for him. But I was happy with the result. My next fight will play out differently.”

On being the favorite in the fight: “I don’t believe in favorites or underdogs. I believe in blood, sweat and tears. I train day in and day out, and I do what my coaches tell me to do. So the fans don’t affect me, other than the fact that I’ll be feeling the positive vibes from them. I’ll show everyone who ‘Massaranduba’ is. I always do my work, and fight fans never affect me negatively.”

On focusing more on his own training than studying his opponent: “To tell the truth, I did study Yancy Medeiros. But if I study his fights too much, I might find myself being too narrow-minded. So toward the end of my camp, I mostly concentrate on tactics. I’m ready to do my work. I’m ready to give my everything in the cage. I’m confident that I’ll beat him, no matter what he brings. I train so I can beat anyone. I’ll give my blood, and I’ll be victorious. I just don’t know how – by points, knockout or submission. But I’m confident he will not defeat me.”