UFC on FOX 23's Marcos Rogerio de Lima says altitude didn't hurt performance, only weight cut

DENVER – Marcos Rogerio de Lima’s decision to arrive in Colorado 15 days early to prepare for Denver’s altitude certainly paid off at Saturday’s UFC on FOX 23 event.

But at Friday’s weigh-ins, the story was different. After getting back to the win column with a first-round TKO victory over UFC newcomer Jeremy Kimball (14-6 MMA, 0-1 UFC), de Lima (15-4-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) said the altitude was the reason why he came in 3.6 pounds over the light-heavyweight limit.

“On the weight, some things happened,  and (it was) pretty tough to reach weight in altitude,” de Lima said through interpreter Alex Davis. “We didn’t understand that correctly. But when I went out there, I felt pretty great. Thank God I have another victory.

“I didn’t really feel the altitude that much, only for the weight. That really messed me up, but I did’t really feel that bad for the rest.”

The catchweight bout was part of the preliminary card of Saturday’s UFC on FOX 23 event at Pepsi Center in Denver. It aired on FS1 following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass and ahead of a main card on FOX.

After snapping short-notice replacement’s Kimball’s four-fight winning streak, de Lima is back in the win column after a submission loss to Gadzhimurad Antigulov in November. So far, the 31-year-old is yet to go to the judges’ scorecards in the UFC, and he’s finished four opponents and been submitted by two.

And while the Brazilian 205-pounder used his post-fight mic time to ask for a chance to avenge the setback to Antigulov next, he named a few different possibilities backstage.

“There are a lot of good guys out there,” de Lima said. “Gian Villante has a fight (against Mauricio Rua, at UFC Fight Night 106). There’s Corey Anderson. I’ll fight anyone.”

To hear more from de Lima, check out the video above.

And for complete coverage of UFC on FOX 23, check out the UFC Events section of the site.