Hacran Dias: I'm different than the fighter Nik Lentz watched on film

If Nik Lentz believes he can watch some footage and know what he’s getting himself into on Saturday night, Hacran Dias believes he’s got another thing coming.

Dias (21-1-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) meets Lentz (23-5-2 MMA, 7-2-1 UFC) in a featherweight bout to close out the prelims of UFC on FX 8 in Brazil.

UFC on FX 8 takes place at Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The event’s main card airs on FX following prelims on FUEL TV and Facebook.

Lentz is 2-0 since entering the weight class, and Dias won his highly touted UFC debut nearly a year ago to run his win streak to nine. So the stakes could be high for either fighter to build toward contender status.

Lentz has talked about believing he’ll have a size advantage since he recently fought at lightweight. But Dias doesn’t see that to be an issue. And seeing some of Dias’ pre-UFC fights online? No worries, Dias said.

“Physical strength, I also have,” he said. “I, too, dropped to featherweight for the same reason. I feel great at this weight class. We’ll see in the cage who’s who. Likewise, as he saw my fights, I saw his, too. And from my last time out, I’ve kept improving. If he feels I’m the same fighter as in those videos, he’s very mistaken.”

Dias, a teammate of UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo at Nova Uniao in Brazil, had plenty of hype on him before his UFC debut this past June at UFC 147, when he beat Yuri Alcantara by unanimous decision.

Dias makes no apologies for the way he went about winning his debut with the promotion, even though he acknowledges that some were disappointed it wasn’t more dynamic – like teammate Aldo.

“Aldo is Aldo; Hacran Dias is Hacran Dias,” he said. “He has his fighting style, I have mine. My strategy against Yuri was purposeful. It was my debut and he was coming off several victories in the promotion. The strategy was to nullify every facet of his game. The plan was to guarantee a win, regardless of how it played out. Sometimes that’s necessary against someone who’s tough and experienced.”

Against Lentz, he plans on keeping on his feet against the experienced wrestler and slugging it out. He said he’s fully healed from a shoulder injury that knocked him out of a December fight against Chad Mendes just days before the bout.

And he also knows that he’s going to have a home-country advantage against the American – something he won’t complain about compared to his debut, when he fought a fellow Brazilian in Brazil.

“Against an American, everyone will be rooting for me there,” he said. “When I debuted in the UFC, I faced a Brazilian. Most fans didn’t know me compared to Yuri Alcantara, who was coming off three victories under Zuffa. Now that I’m facing an American in Brazil, that’s excellent for me.”

For the latest on UFC on FX 8, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.