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DALLAS – Rafael Alves thinks he’s the perfect Rafael within the UFC.
Rafael Fiziev knocked out former light-weight champ Rafael dos Anjos in the primary occasion of UFC on ESPN 39 earlier this month in what he dubbed the battle of Rafaels, however Alves (20-10 MMA, 1-1 UFC) needs within the combine.
He faces Drew Dober (24-11 MMA, 10-7 UFC) on Saturday at UFC 277, which takes place at American Airways Middle. The primary card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ABC/ESPN and early prelims on ESPN+.
“After this battle, we’re gonna be victorious, I plan on difficult Rafael Fiziev, as a result of he mentioned he’s the perfect Rafael,” Alves instructed reporters, together with MMA Junkie, throughout Wednesday’s media day by way of an interpreter. “And you realize what? There are three Rafaels there, and I’m the perfect Rafael. So if he accepts this, and I battle him, you’ll be able to relaxation assured he’s gonna fall to me, as a result of I’m the perfect Rafael on this enterprise.”
Alves has quite a few submission wins to his title, together with his first octagon win in opposition to Marc Diakiese final November. However when he squares off in opposition to power-punching Dober, he sees it as a battle of strikers.
“It’s obtained all of the potential for fireworks,” Alves mentioned. “Lots of people suppose wrongfully that I’m a jiu-jitsu man, however ever since I used to be 7 years outdated, I used to be muay Thai. I’m a striker, and it has all of the potential to really be simply principally this brawl, this all-out battle. However you realize, I don’t suppose it’s gonna go previous the primary spherical, and it’s gonna be like my final battle.”
For extra on the cardboard, go to MMA Junkie’s occasion hub for UFC 277.
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