Mario Israel Is Hoping Dana White Will Discover Him

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Mario Israel (10-1) said that he’s hoping he will get discovered when Dana White brings his Looking For A Fight show to RFA 38. Israel will fight Albert Morales (5-0). The event takes place at The Hangar at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, California. It airs on AXS TV today. Here are highlights:

On Dana White being at the event: “I’m sure this is the opportunity of a lifetime. I’m sure he’ll want to hire me after he sees me fight.”

On fighting in Brazil: “Brazil has been in a state of crisis. Some of my problems were that worthwhile opponents were being too picky. And some organizers tried lining me up against what we call ‘dead chickens’ – someone to pad my record. I refused. There’s no point to train and suffer for months, pushing everything to the limit, if you know victory is guaranteed. And the ranked guys in Brazil were handpicking their opponents. On top of that, other organizers wanted me to pay for my flight from Manaus. So if I won a fight for 1,000 Brazilian Reals ($279), that would only cover my ticket. I would be basically fighting for free. Those were the main factors as to why I haven’t fought in so long.”

On his goals: “My plan is to enter the UFC as quickly as possible. I want to fight well.”