“I have respect for Tybura because he is a very good warrior. But when the cage door is closed, I need to make everything to win, and he must be ready for this.”
“This is just my next fight to become closer to the Top 10. I think on Saturday I will show that I’m ready to compete with [those] guys.”
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Without looking past his current opponent, Romanov envisions future matchups with Jairzinho Rozenstruik and Tai Tuivasa. For someone who, only five fights into his UFC career, is confident he can compete with the toughest guys in the division, you might think that there’s arrogance to go along with that. However, “King Kong” is quite humble in his preparation, respecting his opponents throughout the lead-up to the fight.
Referring to himself as a lazy dinosaur on UFC 278 Embedded: Episode 2, it may be misleading that someone can be so dominant and have such conviction that he can be one of the best fighters in the world. But that confidence stems from how hard he works in training to earn the results that he knows he deserves.
“Outside of the Octagon, when we’re face-to-face, I remain calm, I smile, but in the Octagon, they feel that it’s another person,” Romanov said. “In the Octagon, I come to win and I’m ready to make everything for this.”
