UFC on FX 8's Roger Hollett out of Canadian comfort zone, but still relaxed

This time around, Roger Hollett has one thing going for him: the benefit of a complete training camp.

Hollett (13-4 MMA, 0-1 UFC) made his UFC debut this past September and dropped a unanimous decision to Matt Hamill at UFC 152 in his native Canada. But that debut came after more than a few distractions.

Hollett was booked to fight Hamill. Then a contract dispute with Bellator MMA forced him to be pulled from the bout. But when replacement Vladimir Matyushenko was injured, the issue keeping Hollett from the UFC had been resolved and he hopped right back into the fight – on fewer than two weeks’ notice.

Even with some extenuating circumstances surrounding his loss to Hamill, Hollett is well aware that two straight UFC setbacks has been getting fighters a one-way ticket to the unemployment line these days. Still, he’s not putting any pressure on himself against Fabio Maldonado (18-6 MMA, 1-3 UFC) on Saturday at UFC on FX 8 in Brazil.

“I had a full camp this time,” Hollett told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “I’m going to go out there and fight, and if I get put on the chopping block, at least I went down fighting.”

UFC on FX 8 takes place at Arena Jaragua in Jaragua do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The event’s main card airs on FX following prelims on FUEL TV and Facebook. Hollett-Maldonado is part of the preliminary card on FX.

Maldonado could be feeling some of that chopping block pressure. After a win in his UFC debut at UFC 120, he has dropped three straight fights to Kyle Kingsbury, Igor Pokrajac and Glover Teixeira.

But it was his fight with Teixeira at UFC 153 this past October that endeared him to fans. He took a fairly severe beating against his fellow Brazilian, but refused to go down. After the second round, though, the cage side doctor said Maldonado had had enough and the fight was stopped.

Hollett is prepared for that zombie-like version of Maldonado.

“You train your ass off with lots of conditioning, and you have it in your head that you’re going to be in for a war,” he said. “You’ve got to be mentally ready, too, for a guy like this. He’s definitely tough. It’s going to be a great fight for me, I think, and I think the fans are really going to enjoy the show.”

After fighting his entire career in his native Canada, Hollett, a former light heavyweight champion for Canada’s MFC promotion, will get a taste of fighting outside Canada for the first time.

But the Greg Jackson/Mike Winkeljohn-trained fighter so far is enjoying the experience. Maybe that means the pressure’s on the home-country fighter – Hollett is a 2-to-1 underdog. Hollett isn’t sure. He just knows what he needs to do.

“It’s nice to get out and see the world a bit,” Hollett said. “There’s no pressure on me – this is just fun for me. I get to travel and visit (Brazil). I don’t know if the pressure’s on him or not, but we’ll see the night of the fight. I’m very relaxed. There’s no game face now – after the weigh-ins for me, then the game face starts coming on.”

For the latest on UFC on FX 8, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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