UFC on FOX 11’s Brad Tavares focused more on Romero’s striking, less on wrestling

If MMA bouts were decided purely on athletic credentials, Brad Tavares would be in for a long night on his back against Olympic silver medalist Yoel Romero at Saturday’s UFC on FOX 11 event.

In reality, though, past accomplishments don’t always mean a lot when the octagon door closes and it all comes down to execution.

So as Tavares (12-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) prepares for his network-televised main-card showdown with Romero (7-1 MMA, 3-0 UFC) at Orlando’s Amway Center, he isn’t worrying so much about his opponent’s wrestling credentials, but more on how he’ll attempt to piece together that wrestling with the rest of his offense.

“MMA wrestling is a totally different thing, and he’s one of those guys who maybe hasn’t catered it to MMA yet,” Tavares told MMAjunkie. “He’s been having so much success with his hands and his striking that he’s kind of let his wrestling fall to the wayside.”

While it’d be reasonable to think Romero would be the ultimate decider of whether or not a fight hits the ground, that hasn’t been the case during his UFC tenure. Romero has failed to secure a takedown on five attempts and has been taken down a total of five times.

Romero ultimately won all three of his UFC appearances by knockout, but Tavares feels those performances have taken some of the fear away from his wrestling arsenal.

“I don’t think he’s the greatest MMA wrestler in the UFC or even in our division,” Tavares said. “As far as on paper and credentials, he has to be one of the most highly decorated UFC fighters when it comes to wrestling. Like I said, it doesn’t always translate to MMA wrestling. I wouldn’t say his wrestling is overrated, but we’re fighting in MMA.”

Moreover, after seeing what Romero’s grappling has looked liked inside the octagon, Tavares, who boast the division’s fourth best takedown defense rate at 80.8 percent, said he’s grown more confident in his ability to stop the takedown if his opponent opts to turn it into that type of fight.

“I work really hard on my wrestling,” Tavares said. “It’s not to say that there’s nobody in the division that can take me down, but if he tries to take me down, I think I can stop him. If he does get me down, I know I can get back up.”

While it’s easy to cling onto the wrestling aspect of the scheduled bout, the two middleweights are just as likely to stand in front of each other for 15 minutes or until someone is knocked out.

That’s the type of fight Tavares embraces. And while Romero has shown the ability to knock out opponents any time, Tavares said he’ll be on high alert.

“I prepare myself for guys that are dangerous from minute one to minute 15,” Tavares said. “I’m not one of those guys that will take it easy or get lazy in a fight. I know this guy is dangerous. I know his style. I know he just coasts and cruises the first couple rounds and then in the third he’ll try to take you out. I’m more than ready for that pace.”

Prior to receiving Romero as an opponent, Tavares pleaded for the UFC to give him a fight against a top-10 opponent. Unfortunately, despite owning a five-fight UFC winning streak, he didn’t get his wish.

Instead, he got Romero. He’s an opponent who is just as dangerous as any top-10 fighter, but he doesn’t carry the same name value.

Tavares is confident that a victory over “The Soldier of God” will finally be the one to earn him a shot against the elite of the elite. Six wins in a row can’t be ignored. Tavares knows this and plans to cease his opportunity to break through.

“Every fight in the UFC is important,” Tavares said. “But right now where I’m at, my next fight is always the biggest fight of my career. This is my next fight, and this to date is going to be the biggest fight of my career.

“I need this win, I want to get into the top 10, and I want to get closer to the belt, closer to title contention. I need this win.”

For the latest on UFC on FOX 11, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.