American MMA fighter Cody Bollinger was off to face Brazilian champion Marlon Moraes last Saturday on WSOF 13 without a title belt on the line.
Marlon Moraes (13-4) has seven straight wins and he is the current World Series of Fighting (WSOF) 135 pound title.
But according to Bollinger, he is not bothered or Moraes stature in the MMA.
He said "He's tough, man. He's a good fighter. He's been brought up well with a good manager and a good team...but as far as ranking him, I don't know where you put him. Other people can decide that. Taking his place in the rankings isn't extra motivation. Anytime I've got someone across the cage trying to beat me up, I already have plenty of motivation to win (laughs)."
Although Bollinger is considered the underdog between both of the, he is not the least bothered with fighting a more popular and awarded fighter such as Moraes saying "I grew up in wrestling. You go to tournaments and you see upsets all the time."
When asked how he prepares for his fight with Moraes, he answered "I try to balance both of those. I don't like to just focus on my opponent or my self so I take a little from each side. My strategy is the same as it is every time - hit him as hard as I can, push the pace, and stay active. Whatever he gives me, I'll take and I want to be comfortable wherever the fight goes. He's a good fighter but I haven't seen him do anything or seen anything he has to offer that is different from stuff I've seen and experienced."
But in the end, Bollinger was motivation in going in to the fight with Moraes and that is to give him "self doubt". He said "onestly, man, once you start getting wins and beat some good names, you get a confidence about yourself. He's got that going for him. I haven't seen anyone make him question himself during the fight in a long time. There's some things I feel I can do, there. Win or lose, I want to make him question himself, and see how he reacts when things are not going his way or the fight isn't stuck in his rythym. Everyone has fought at his rythym for the last few fights. I'm going to try and change that."
