Gustavo Lopez is giving opponents more to worry about heading into Combate Americas 42 title defense
Looking back on his first round TKO of Jose Alday this past March at Combate Americas 33, bantamweight Gustavo Lopez notes a difference in attitude more so than technical skills that made for such a strong performance.
Lopez notes that when things are going well for him outside the cage that things tend to go well inside the cage and it showed in his win over Alday.
“Everything has been going pretty well; no issues, no drama; my mind has been so happy recently, and that was one of the biggest assets was that my mind was in a happy place,” Lopez told MMAWeekly.com.
“There’s a couple of photos of me smiling in the cage. It’s what I love to do. Everything just felt right.”
While his mental state helped him claim his first major MMA championship in the victory against Alday, Lopez feels there has been a big leap forward in one particular area of his game.
“My hands looked so much better than in previous years,” said Lopez. “In that fight I moved very well, striking looked very crisp, angles are going right and I finished that fight with a TKO.
“Overall I have a heavy pace, good pressure, great wrestling, but now people have to worry about my striking. I think that’s going to open up my takedowns even more. Now if you keep your hands down to try to stop my takedown I’ll hit you in the face. Now I give people more to worry about than just my wrestling.”
On Friday in Lake Tahoe, Nev., Lopez (10-4) will look to successfully defend his title for the first time when he faces Joey Ruquet (7-2) in the 135-pound main event of Combate Americas 42.
This article first appeared at News – MMAWeekly.com
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