LAS VEGAS – If you think Santiago Luna is intimidated fighting someone with the pedigree of Bryce Mitchell, think again.
Luna (8-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) is only about a year removed from fighting for promotions like Tuff-N-Uff and LXF, and in just his third fight in the UFC, he’ll take on Mitchell (18-3 MMA, 9-3 UFC) on the UFC Fight Night 278 (Paramount+) main card Saturday at the Meta APEX.
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Even though Luna is a slight betting underdog against Mitchell, he thinks he can have his way with him if he sticks to the plan. And part of that comes from the fact he’s been training with Arman Tsarukyan and Marlon Vera, which gave him some confidence to take the short-notice matchup after Mitchell’s original opponent, Victor Henry, dropped out.
“I’m a fighter that’s always ready year-round,” Luna told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Wednesday’s media day. “Even when I finish fights, I go back at it maybe a week after the fight. Thank God I was getting prepared. I was rolling around, maybe not in my own camps, but other people around me were doing camps or just training hard like I do. I’m always around. A guy like, ‘Chito’ (Vera), he’s always training the whole year ’round. And now with Arman Tsarukyan for the past month, you can kind of tell where I’m going.”
And that preparation, Luna thinks, will have him prepared for Mitchell’s wrestling game. After a loss to Jean Silva at UFC 314, Mitchell moved down to bantamweight from his longtime featherweight home. And there, he beat Said Nurmagomedov right out of the gate last July.
But Luna isn’t fretting much.
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“We’re realistic with any opponent that we go against. Other than the pressure for one round that Bryce has with his wrestling, even having that, I believe he’s not going to take me down. I believe my defense is going to be on point, and that’s where my game plan is going to go. I’m super excited for that. I think I’ll be able to take him down anytime I want. I’ll be able to strike with him anytime I want, and the finish is going to come.”
Check out Luna’s full media day interview above.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Santiago Luna confident he can do whatever he wants to Bryce Mitchell
