Exclusive: Marcos Rogerio de Lima talks about cutting weight, and which fighter he hopes to fight next

Marcos Rogerio de Lima has returned to Heavyweight
Marcos Rogerio de Lima has returned to Heavyweight

UFC Fight Night 145: Blachowicz vs Santos is coming to Prague in the Czech Republic this weekend for the very first time. The event will be the first visit of UFC to the Czech Republic.

Marcos Rogerio de Lima will be facing Stefan Struve at UFC Prague, looking to extend his winning run to two fights and really establish his dominance.

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I had the chance to catch up with him ahead of his fight. Here are a few excerpts from the interview.


Q. Your return to Heavyweight was certainly successful at UFC 230. How do you plan to continue that trend heading into UFC Fight Night Prague?

MRDL: I’m comfortable fighting at heavyweight. Struve is a tough guy, but everyone here is tough. I prefer to stay in this division. I will stay in this division for a long time.

Q. Did the return to heavyweight help boost you before your last fight? What would you say is the major difference between light heavyweight and heavyweight?

MRDL: It was very hard to cut weight. Now, it’s more comfortable to fight at heavyweight. It’s a lot easier to train and perform on fight night.

Q. If there was a dream opponent for you currently in the UFC heavyweight division, who would it be?

MRDL: Junior dos Santos could be a good fight. We train together, but maybe a fight between us for the title would be good for Brazil.

Q. What does this fight against Stefan Struve mean to you? At 7 feet, are you apprehensive about reach disadvantages?

MRDL: I want to show everyone I belong at heavyweight and that I’m going to stay here. I’m going to make history in this division.


Tune in to Sony Six and Sony Six HD to catch all the action from UFC Prague at 12:30 AM on the 24th of February.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram