UFC 196's Siyar Bahadurzada: No 'welterweight alive will stand in front of me'

Siyar Bahadurzada is coming off a two-fight skid, a two-year layoff and hasn’t won a bout in four years. His confidence, though, hasn’t seemed to waver a bit.

The headstrong Bahadurzada (21-6-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) meets fellow welterweight Brandon Thatch (11-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) on Saturday at UFC 196, and though he’s taken some time off and relocated to a new camp, his trademark bravado hasn’t been left behind.

“Sometimes, people, they don’t dare stand in front of me and try to fight me,” Bahadurzada, who has 11 knockouts in 21 career wins, recently told MMAjunkie. “I don’t think there’s any welterweight alive that will stand in front of me and trade with me. There’s nobody.

“Nobody will do it. Nobody dares to stand in front of me and trade with me because I have the power to knock out heavyweights. And they will feel it right away when I touch them.”

Bahadurzada plans to prove it on Saturday in UFC 196’s featured prelim, which airs on FOX Sports 1 from Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena prior to the pay-per-view main card.

The 31-year-old Afghan fighter knocked out Paulo Thiago in his UFC debut and ran his overall winning streak to seven fights. However, after decision losses to Dong Hyun Kim and John Howard, he decided to take a break from competition and recently hooked up with Jackson-Wink MMA in New Mexico.

“This is my first camp here at Jackson’s, and I absolutely love it,” he said. ” … It was always on my mind to try to see how Jackson’s MMA is, so when I came here, it removed all my doubts. The way they train, the coaches, the leadership in the gym – it’s incredible.

“Also, the fight IQ they try to teach you, becoming a better fighter, it’s a whole new level here.”

Check out the full interview above.

And for more on UFC 196, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.