Iuri Alcantara sees little upside to UFC 212 bout with newcomer Brian Kelleher

Iuri Alcantara isn’t delusional about the potential upside of his UFC 212 bout with Brian Kelleher. Best-case scenario? He wins, gets paid, hopefully adds another highlight to his resume, and if things really well, maybe he nets another fight-night bonus.

The bantamweight matchup with Kelleher (16-7 MMA, 0-0 UFC), which airs on the FS1-televised preliminary-card portion of Saturday’s event at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro prior to the pay-per-view main card, is not one that’s going to put Alcantara (34-7 MMA, 9-4 UFC) in line for a title shot. In fact, he would be lucky if it moves him up the divisional rankings at all.

Some fighters, and specifically ones in Alcantara’s situation with three wins in his past four fights, would be frustrated by not receiving a more noteworthy fight. Alcantara said he simply takes it in stride.

“I don’t choose my opponents,” Alcantara told MMAjunkie. “A lot of people thought I shouldn’t take this fight. Just like when I faced Frankie Saenz, Brian Kelleher also isn’t ranked. If I beat him, it won’t help me climb the rankings. So I’ll just look to have a good fight, beat him, and then ask for someone ranked above me.

Alcantara, an honorable mention in the latest USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA bantamweight rankings, is coming off one of the most remarkable comebacks in UFC history. After Lake Sanders utterly battered him with multiple near-stoppages at UFC 209 in March, Alcantara pulled off one of the largest comebacks, statistically speaking, in UFC history when he snatched a second-round submission for the win.

Although it was an exhilarating performance, it’s not something Alcantara wants to mimic in the future. He said he wants to bring a wiser approach into the cage for cleaner victories.

“Today, I look to fight more intelligently,” Alcantara said. “I enjoy striking, but we’ve been working a lot on the ground. Every time we hit the mat, I’ll look for a submission. I want to show the world that I’m a true black belt.”

After spending recent fight camps at Jackson-Wink MMA in Albuquerque, N.M., Alcantara stayed in his native Brazil ahead of UFC 212. That decision stemmed from the late booking of the fight, which resulted in less time to train, and therefor Alcantara thought it was in his best interest to limit travel.

Alcantara said he hasn’t thought much about what Kelleher will attempt to do on fight night. With 15 UFC/WEC appearances already to his credit, Alcantara has already encountered many different challenges. With that experience in mind, he feels fully prepared for the task ahead.

“I might watch tape on my opponent maybe once,” Alcantara said. “I don’t like to watch too many videos. We can see both his weak and strong attributes. It’s going to be a good fight. I’ll be representing Brazil well.”

For complete coverage of UFC 212, check out the UFC Events section of the site.