00:11 I'm good, thank you. You have a chance to make a big jump in the rankings. Do you look at yourself as the dark horse of the division?
00:19 I don't look at myself as a dark horse, I look at myself as a polar bear. We are focused on winning.
00:34 You finished Lewis's fight in a theoretical way. How do you think it was a big jump for you?
01:03 Every fight is different. I don't think about it. Derek is a good fighter, but we beat him.
01:13 Every fight is different, I don't think about it this way. Derek is a great fighter, it just happened that we went through him that time. He's a great fighter, it doesn't take anything from him that we won.
01:25 This is going to be your first main event, I believe. How has your preparation been different for 25 minutes?
01:39 I had a fight with Derek, but we didn't win the first fight because he wasn't in good shape. Then we had a second fight, and now we have a third. The training is the same, everyone is training and working.
02:05 The first fight with Lewis didn't come to fruition, but it was also going to be the main event. Unfortunately, because of his health, he had to get out of the fight.
02:15 But then they rescheduled it, rebooked it, and it was also the main event. Technically, this is my third main event that I'm getting prepared for.
02:22 But nothing is different, the preparation is not different. We're making sure to sharpen our tools, sharpen our skills, and come out there to win.
02:30 You're taking on Cyril Gann, who has lost two of his past three. The last one against John Jones was a pretty quick one. What did you think of his loss to John Jones?
02:40 Your opponent will be Cyril Gann, who has lost his last two fights. The last fight, of course, he lost to John Jones. How did you prepare for him, and what do you think about him needing to win this fight?
02:55 I'm preparing as usual, I'm training hard. The guys from my team know how I train, how I give my best in training.
03:08 I don't care what my name is, I just come here to fight, to win. That's what I'm focusing on. It doesn't matter who's against me, I've been in the sport for 7 years, I've been fighting for a long time.
03:29 I've had a lot of fighters in my life, and if I had to think about who's against me, it would be stupid.
03:43 I prepare really hard, I put my entire self into training. The guys from my team know and see how much I put in at every practice. It doesn't matter who I prepare for.
03:54 I don't think about Cyril or who's going to be in the cage. I have to tell you that I've been in the sport since I was 7 years old.
04:01 There's been a lot of people, a lot of names in front of me, a lot of different competitions.
04:05 There's no time for me to really think about who my next opponent is going to be. What I have to think and concentrate about is myself, my preparation, and then I'm going to come out there and we'll see what happens.
04:26 You have won by KO, you have won in ground, you have won by choke, you have won in different ways. It's clear that his problem is ground, but he's an excellent puncher. How ready are you for this?
04:42 I don't study my opponents, I don't know what problems they have. I prepare for the most perfect fighter. For me he's going to be a good fighter, a good puncher, he's got good cardio.
05:00 I'm preparing for a serious opponent. I don't look for any disadvantages in my opponent, where he's good, where he's bad. I don't do that. I prepare for the most serious opponent. That's it. Every fight is like that.
05:21 I get prepared for the best fighter that can be in front of me. I don't study my opponent, I don't look at his weaknesses, I don't look to concentrate on something that he's strong or his weaknesses.
05:31 I get ready for somebody who is a great striker or a great wrestler or a great grappler or somebody who's got cardio for days. I get prepared for the ultimate fighter that's going to be in front of me.
05:43 So I don't have time to concentrate on what I can capitalize in the fight. I just think that if I prepare for everything great, then the fight will show.
05:52 Tom Espinel said he's going to come watch this fight and he wants the winner. Do you see him as a logical next step or are you thinking you beat Cyril, it's a title shot?
06:03 First of all, we need to beat Cyril. We won't look at the opponent's back. We're ready for anything. I don't give up the fight.
06:15 As long as I'm not looking at the title, we'll keep going.
06:36 First of all, we have to go through Cyril. I'm not going to go ahead of him and think ahead of him. My goal right now is Cyril.
06:43 And then we'll see. I get prepared. I never say no to fights. We'll see what the UFC says. I'll take whoever the next opponent is.
06:52 And however many steps it will take for me to get to the title, that's how many I'm ready to go. I'm getting prepared for everybody and willing to fight anybody.
07:00 One last one. How do you see the fight between John Jones and Stipe going? Who do you think wins?
07:05 Please tell us if you can, the fight between John Jones and Stipe Mojic. Who do you think will win?
07:12 Both are great fighters. John Jones is a very smart fighter. I think he'll work at a distance and not let Cyril hit him.
07:28 John Jones has seen a lot of fighters in his life. I think he'll win.
07:41 They're both amazing, great fighters. Very strong. John Jones is a very intelligent fighter. I think he'll make sure to keep his distance.
07:49 Make sure Stipe cannot get him from the distance. To be honest, Jones has seen a lot of fighters in front of him. He's got a lot of experience.
07:59 If you listen to the commentary, if you look at it, then most likely I think Jones is going to take it.
08:08 Cyril Gann is known as a wrestler. Last week we saw Sean O'Malley become champion against Aljamien Sterling. What do you need to do to avoid the same result?
08:23 Be focused and focused on the fight. We have a heavyweight fight. Be careful.
08:51 I have to stay focused, concentrate on the fight, pay attention. We're in a different weight class. This is heavyweight, so every punch can be a knockout punch.
09:01 I have to make sure to stay focused, concentrate and avoid those.
09:05 You're on a three-fight win streak. Do you think you're entering your prime?
09:15 I don't think about my previous victories. I concentrate on what's ahead of me. I prepare for what's ahead of me.
09:22 I'm not thinking about my past victories. I'm thinking about what's ahead of me. I'm preparing for the future.
09:32 I don't care about what happened before. I want to become better.
09:39 Your last six fights have taken place in Las Vegas. Are you excited to have the change of scenery?
09:48 It doesn't matter. The cage will close. It will be the same as in Vegas. I'm a UFC fighter.
09:55 It doesn't matter. The cage will close. It will be the same as in Vegas. I'm a UFC fighter.
10:03 It doesn't matter. The cage will close. It will be the same as in Vegas. I'm a UFC fighter.
10:08 It doesn't matter. The cage will close. It will be the same as in Vegas. I'm a UFC fighter.
10:18 What's around me doesn't matter. The octagon will be the same. When the door of the octagon closes, it will be the same as in Vegas.
10:26 Nothing else matters. What's important is inside the cage.
10:29 Are you excited to play the bad guy role? Being the fighter that's not from France, taking on the French star that everyone loves.
10:36 Are you excited to play the bad guy?
10:39 Are you excited to play the bad guy? Being the fighter that's not from France, taking on the French star that everyone loves.
10:51 I don't think about it. I think about myself. I want to do my job well.
10:59 It doesn't matter for me. That's not what I think about. What I think about is myself to make sure that I'm prepared and focused.
11:04 I want to make sure to do my job and the rest does not matter.
11:07 Thank you.
11:08 When we talk about the heavyweight title race, we usually talk about Aspinall, Pavlovich, Almeida.
11:19 But if you win against Serial Gun this weekend, you can be in this race.
11:23 Do you feel that for the moment you are underrated and this fight could be the jump of your career in terms of visibility?
11:33 When we talk about the heavyweight title race, we usually talk about Aspinall, Pavlovich, Almeida.
11:40 But if you win against Serial Gun this weekend, you can be in this race.
11:46 We won't look behind the opponent's back. But everyone knows that the ones who win will go up.
11:54 So the one who wins will go up.
12:00 I'm not going to look ahead of my opponent. This fight is the most important one.
12:04 And after that we'll see. Because obviously whoever wins gets raised in the ratings.
12:09 So we'll have to win to see where we're going to land.
12:12 Thank you.
12:13 I think you trained for a little bit, for weeks, in the gym of Serial Gun MMA Factory.
12:21 Did you learn some things while you were there?
12:24 Yes, I did. I was here in France, I trained in his gym.
12:29 I don't remember if it was a long time ago.
12:32 But I came here and met new guys who train here.
12:39 And I met new friends.
12:44 I met new guys who train here.
12:52 And other guys.
12:56 It's not unusual, everyone is different.
13:01 We trained and worked together.
13:05 You're correct, it did happen. At one point I was here in France.
13:08 This was a while ago, so I don't really remember.
13:11 But obviously I was here. I met new guys, new training partners.
13:14 And whenever you do that, you always get something out of it.
13:17 Nothing out of the ordinary. I came here, I trained with some different guys.
13:21 And got something out of it and moved on.
13:29 Just one last one. Out of curiosity, we know that you train in a lot of different gyms around the world.
13:36 And you see a lot of different camps, different trainers. Could you explain why?
13:40 It's just interesting, you train in different gyms with different sparring partners.
13:45 And you don't have your own specific gym.
13:49 I'm just wondering why, why not in one gym, but everywhere in different places?
13:54 I don't know, I was always looking for something for myself.
13:59 It just happened. I was just going to different gyms.
14:04 I liked it. I trained there, I trained there.
14:09 I mean, look at how things are around the world.
14:13 You know, not sure how to explain it. This is just something I was always interested in.
14:17 Always looking for something else.
14:19 You know, train here, train there. Get something out of these people, something out of that.
14:23 So it's just always been nice for me to travel around the world and train in different gyms.
