UFC 161's Roland Delorme on Figueroa: 'What he's really bad at, I'm good at'

After nearly a year on the bench due to surgery on his arm, Roland Delorme returns to the cage to meet Edwin Figueroa at UFC 161. He already believes it’s a matchup that’s tailor-made.

“I’ve seen all his fights in the UFC,” Delorme (8-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “There’s no secret that his ground game is not that good. He doesn’t defend the takedown very well. And that’s what I’m good at. What he’s really bad at, I’m good at.”

It’s not that Delorme thinks Figueroa (9-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) has no skills on the ground, but rather bad habits that could make his job easier when they meet on the FX-televised prelims of the pay-per-view event, which takes place Saturday at MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

“He gives his back a lot,” Delorme said of Figueroa. “He gets in trouble, he gives his back. It’s just something he does naturally; I don’t think it’s something he can control. You give your back to me, that’s a pretty bad thing to do.”

Delorme, who first gained notoriety on Season 14 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” won two straight after the reality show, but was knocked out by Francisco Rivera in his most recent performance. The loss, however, was reversed to a no-contest when Rivera tested positive for a banned substance.

Still, the 29-year-old from Winnipeg feels the pressure to go out and perform despite hometown support.

“I can’t be overwhelmed by the moment,” he said. “If I don’t beat Edwin, it doesn’t matter if I’m at home or not. I need to focus on the task at hand, (and) especially get back in the win column.”

The two have an opponent in common in Rivera, who also stopped Figueroa with punches when they met at UFC 156. Figueroa had won two in a row prior to the setback with an aggressive striking attack.

Delorme, of course, plans to avoid getting caught again.

“The fight starts standing up,” he said. “But I think my hands are better than his ground game.”

For the latest on UFC 161, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.