Frazier getting to the final might have come as a surprise, but Espino looks the part and showed the skills to back up that assumption. His contentiousness with Maurice Greene while in the TUF house was well-documented, and he said he had to force himself to relax even more ahead of the fight.
With that past him and a UFC contract within grasp, “El Guapo” has his sights set higher.
“I want to prove what I’m capable of,” he said through a translator. “At the beginning, I didn’t know if I could make it into TUF, so I didn’t know my limits. So at this point, I want to get a contract by winning TUF, so I can get a top-15 maybe and go from there.”
Espnio prides himself on being a “very unpredictable” fighter who can mixup a strong standup with good grappling, and he knows he’s in for a challenge with Frazier, whom he called a “really good wrestler.”
“I want to do everything possible to win this fight and I respect Justin a lot,” he said.
Both fighters bulldozed their way to the final with first-round finishes. Frazier ended his fight with Michel Batista in a flurry, and Espino let out all his frustration with Maurice Greene out with a rear naked choke. Even though they’re coming off quick finishes, Frazier isn’t looking for a quick night of work.
“MMA is one of those deals, especially (at) heavyweight, one touch can finish a fight, and that’s fine and dandy.” He said. “It’s always an option, but when you have a three-round war and you guys absolutely go at it kind of like the (Anthony) Pettis (Tony) Furgeson fight, that’s why we fight.”
Most fighters would want to end a fight in quick and dominant fashion, but Frazier has different expectations for his fight, and if his bout with Espino meets those expectations, fight fans are in for a treat.
“A Fight of the Night bonus would be awesome,” Frazier said. “I hope that we beat the s*** out of each other for 15 minutes.”
Zac Pacleb is a writer and producer for UFC.com. You can follow him on Twitter @ZacPacleb.
