'The Iron Hillbilly' prepping for UFC Fight Night 38 unveiling

NATAL, Brazil – Fabio Maldonado‘s fight previews don’t need much technical analysis. Spoiler alert: He wants to brawl. So what curiosity can you anticipate? How about a potential official debut of his previously unofficial nickname: “The Iron Hillbilly.”

“It’s my official nickname, but I still have to talk to my manager to make sure it’s my official UFC nickname so Bruce Buffer will announce it,” Maldonado told MMAjunkie through an interpreter.

Maldonado (20-6 MMA, 3-3 UFC) faces Gian Villante (11-4 MMA, 1-1 UFC) on the FOX Sports 1-broadcast main card of Sunday’s “UFC Fight Night 38: Henderson vs. Shogun 2? event at Ginasio Nelio Dias in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.

The 34-year-old Maldonado, a true Rocky Balboa figure in MMA with a granite chin and a propensity for fighting in a phone booth, has carried the alarmingly accurate nickname – “Caipira de Aco” in his native Portuguese – for quite some time. His brutal 2012 brawl with Glover Teixeira, in which the man who will next month fight for the UFC’s light heavyweight belt mercilessly beat on Maldonado for 15 uncomfortable minutes, was the tipping point for the knockout artist to earn the moniker.

“I actually got this nickname following the loss to Glover,” Maldonado explained. “Even in defeat, you find good things, so that’s what happened, and I think the nickname is actually pretty cool. It means I’m a very tough guy.

“Glover usually finishes people in one or two minutes, and I resisted it and took more punishment, and that’s how it came about. Also, this is a quality of mine that I’ve been carrying forever. I’ve always been able to turn the tables in fights. I think in 14 or 15 fights, I was in a bad position, and then I was able to turn the table. So that characteristic of my game is the source of the nickname.”

Of course, brutal losses may earn you some leeway in the eyes of UFC executives, but you don’t stay in the sport’s premier organization without picking up some wins, as well. And while his losses to Teixeira, Igor Pokrajac and Kyle Kingsbury were memorable wars, he’s since bounced back with victories over Joey Beltran and Roger Hollett.

Maldonado said while his brawling style might not always make it seem that way, he does value victory over sheer entertainment.

“Honestly, I would rather win than just entertain,” Maldonado said. “But I guess I always have to hurt and punish.

“Everybody knows my style. I want to strike. Of course I train jiu-jitsu, and I have a plan with my team. I know he might take me down and I might have to do the ground thing, but everybody knows I love to brawl. When you brawl, sometimes you take punishment, but that’s alright. I mean, I’d rather not, but I enjoy it, too.”

So the only question mark ahead of Maldonado’s bout might be whether or not his now-official nickname is approved in time for its UFC debut. Once the bell sounds, there is no doubt that Maldonado will be walking forward, looking to throw his hands. Villante actually has promised to do the same, which could lead to another memorable brawl.

Maldonado thinks Villante is bluffing, but he points to Gabriel Gonzaga’s legendary 2007 knockout of Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic as proof that anything is possible in MMA.

“I think [Villante] doesn’t mean it,” Maldonado said. “I think when it comes time to fight, he’s going to want to wrestle and take me down, but anything can happen in a fight. What happened with ‘Napao’ and ‘Cro Cop’ is proof that pretty much anything can happen.

“Let’s see. I want to stand and brawl, but I think he’s going to want to try and wrestle.”

For the latest on UFC Fight Night 38, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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