UFC Fight Night 103 will be headlined by Yair Rodriguez taking on former UFC Welterweight Champion and former UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn, but there is an intriguing bout in the co-main event as well. That co-main event fight will be taking place in the bantamweight division as Bryan Carway takes on Jimmie Rivera and Rivera, beside wanting to walk away the victor, also wants to just punch Caraway in the face.
“I just don’t like the guy. I mean it was fine, they asked me, ‘Bryan Caraway on the 15th.’ I said, ‘yeah, no problem.’ But then right before I left, I went as a UFC fighter guest to Mexico City, for the Tony Ferguson vs. [Rafael] Dos Anjos fight, and right before I leave, he starts going on a rant on Twitter. Then, as I’m leaving to come back home, he starts going on a rant. I’m like, ‘listen bro, they told me this date and you. I said yes and yes and that was it. I’m not trying to pick and choose my fights or this and that.’ Then I heard him in an interview talking smack, and I’m just like ‘I just can’t wait to punch this guy in the face’. I’m so happy. Sometimes you look forward to the fight, and it’s going to be a good fight, but sometimes you just really want to f—king hurt them, and that’s how I feel,” Rivera said to Bloody Elbow.
Caraway does provide an interesting stylistic match up for Rivera, but Rivera is confident that he can win the fight, no matter where it goes.
“I can beat him anywhere. If he took me down to the ground - he’s not going to be able to take me down to the ground - but I can beat him wrestling, grappling, kickboxing. It doesn’t matter. He was saying some smack about he was going to punch and move, punch and move. I’m just going to stand there. I’m going to hit him, and he’s not going to like it and he’s going to run away. That’s what’s really going to happen. Just like with Faber, I hit him, he ran away. I try to hit him again, he would run away... I’m going to hit him and he’s going to feel it. Then he’s going decide what he wants to do after that,” said Rivera.
UFC Fight Night 103 takes place on Sunday, January 15 from the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona with BJ Penn and Yair Rodriguez headlining.
