UFC Fight Night 109's Bojan Velickovic expecting heavy Serbian support even in enemy territory

STOCKHOLM, Sweden – When Bojan Velickovic enters Stockholm’s Ericsson Globe on Sunday, he’ll be in enemy territory against Sweden’s own Nico Musoke.

Aware that the majority of the support will go to Musoke (13-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC), Velickovic (14-4-1 MMA, 1-1-1 UFC) says he has prepared for “hell” both in and outside of the cage. But, after having actively campaigned to ensure his spot European soil, the Serbian welterweight believes he won’t exactly be alone in there either.

“I also know that I’m going to have at least a couple of hundred supporters,” Velickovic told MMAjunkie ahead of the FS1-televised preliminary card scrap. “Because in Stockholm, and Sweden, there are more than 100,000 Serbians that were helping me with my campaign to get on this card.

“This last couple of weeks, I was receiving a lot of messages from (the) Serbian community here from Sweden, telling me that they’re going to come support (me) and that they want me to make them proud. I don’t like to make promises, but I’m certainly looking forward to making them proud on Sunday.”

Whether they’ll be on his side or not, Velickovic fully embraces the passion offered by European sports fans – which is a big reason why he made it a point to land a spot on the card in the first place. And their energy, he says, plays a part even after the cage door closes.

“I’m excited to experience it, that’s for sure,” Velickovic said. “Most of the time, when I was walking out without any excitement, those are the fights that I would usually lose. Because I’m not fired up. Sometimes I like to feel like I’m alive.When I’m nervous, when I see the tension in the air, and that something crazy is about to happen.”

Fighting for the third consecutive time in his home country, Musoke will snap a 855-day layoff since a loss to Albert Tumenov at UFC on FOX 14. Velickovic, in turn, enters the cage off a loss Sultan Aliev, at this past December’s UFC on FOX 22. His first and only octagon win came over Alessio Di Chirico, at UFC Fight Night 86, with a UFC 201 draw with Michael Graves in between.

In spite of the inconsistent early UFC run, Velickovic envisions Sunday bringing not only recovery – but total domination.

“(I hope) to get in there and put a great show on and to just beat Nico in every single aspect of the game,” Velickovic said. “I don’t see myself losing in any kind of position. Standing, wrestling, or grappling, I see myself as the one who dominates the fight. And that’s how I see it playing out in my head. We’ll see on Sunday if it’s going to be that way.”

To hear more from Velickovic, check out the video above

And for more on UFC Fight Night 109, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.