Walk us through the past few weeks. First you were supposed to take Paul Taylor’s spot and fight Anthony Anjokuani. Then Anjokuani got hurt. Now it’s your opponent that’s been changed.
It all happened pretty quickly. Now I’ll be fighting Piotr Hallman. I was back in the gym right after my fight, no layoff as far as training. I really didn’t have a chance to specially train for Anjokuani because within a few days he was out and Hallman was in.
Tell us your initial thoughts on your new opponent Piotr Hallman.
He’s a very durable fighter. He always comes in in great shape and is bigger for 155. Hallman’s a well rounded fighter, always a gamer.
He’s known for his ground and pound and strong right hand. What’s your strategy going into the fight?
The way he fights doesn’t change my strategy. I’ll look for what he does well, implement my game plan, and have an answer for it.
How important is it for you to come in and follow up your impressive August fight with another big win?
I definitely want to feed off that win against Couture and get another “W”. I think Hallman is a great opponent to show case my skills. I’m looking forward to getting back in there and following up August’s fight with another dominant performance.
Tell us about going to England. Any challenges fighting out of the country? How far in advance will you go to the UK?
I’ll get to England the Tuesday before the fight. I need to make sure I acclimate to the time change. Before I leave I’ll start to wake up earlier and go to bed earlier. This way the first day I’m there I’m on there time schedule.
Anything different this time around as far as training.
No changes. Same crew Ray Longo, Serra, and Eric Hyer. All the guys from the gym have been great with helping me get prepared for this fight. I’ve been working on my wrestling with Weidman and Bowman as well. This is going to be an exciting fight make sure to check it out October 26th LIVE on Facebook!
-Matt Pellicane
Iaquinta Nation 