UFC 150 – Thiago Tavares looking for a finish against Dennis Hallman, wants Nate Diaz or Gray Maynard next
UFC lightweight veteran, Thiago Tavares has been giving his thoughts on his upcoming UFC 150 clash with Dennis Hallman on August 11th in Denver, Colorado, as well as stating he’d like to prove himself against either Nate Diaz or Gray Maynard if the result goes his way.
Speaking via MMAJunkie.com, Tavares said:
“I will beat Dennis Hallman. After that, I want Nate Diaz or Gray Maynard. I really want to prove myself. I think Nate Diaz and I would be a crazy, exciting fight. I always try to submit people, and he likes to knock everybody out. Gray Maynard just beat Clay Guida, but I would give him a real fight. I just want to fight against the best names and move up in the division.”
“There are so many guys, and the rankings change all the time. Melvin Guillard, for example. He was almost about to fight for the title two fights ago, and he lost everything. You want to fight against big names, but in the UFC, everybody is good. You take the top contender and the 15th contender, and it’s still two high-level guys, but one guy has a big name and the other guy doesn’t. I fought Pat Audinwood. He’s a really good guy. Michihiro Omigawa. Jason Black. These are really good guys, but they’re not big names.”
“Hallman is really tough. I think he’s going to be the biggest challenge of my career, for sure. He and Sam Stout are both great fighters. I needed to prove myself against Sam Stout, and I won the first two rounds. He won the last round, but it was a good challenge, and Dennis Hallman is going to be a good challenge, too. I’ll be looking for a finish. This is my style. I always go for submissions and knockouts. That’s me.”
Tavares is enjoying somewhat of a resurgence after an inconsistent few years inside the octagon and has put together a two-fight winning streak over Spencer Fisher and Sam Stout on the UFC 134 and UFC 142 card respectively. Stay tuned to MMABay for more build-up to this one as we get it.
By Michael Pepper. (Follow me on Twitter)
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