Chosen to confront Alan Belcher, but due to a retinal detachment of Belcher, Demian ended up without an opponent and has his comeback to the octagon anticipated. The black belt will fight on UFC 118, which happens on August 28, and he will confront a countryman: Mário Miranda. On an interview given to TATAME, Demian commented about the change of opponent and talked about how the anticipation of his next challenge will interfere on his trainings, analyzed his new opponent and guaranteed he still does think about fighting for the belt again, but assured that if the opportunity comes to him, he will be completely different this time. Check these and many other subjects we discussed with the tough guy on the interview here below.

With Alan Belcher’s injury, the Brazilian Mário Miranda became your opponent. What interferes the most: the change of your opponent or the postponement of the fight, since you’ll fight almost a month earlier than you had predicted?

What changes now basically is that I have to speed it up a bit, since my next fight will be like 20 days before I had predicted it. My trainings are now stronger than it were before, so that I can work on the specific training of what I’ll use during the combat. I’m on a good rhythm of trainings, I’m feeling fine and I believe I can get there 100%, and that’s what matters.

What do you know about Mário Miranda? Did you have any time to study his game yet?

I know he’s a good wrestler, he’s a big guy, tall, I think, but as I only knew about this fight yesterday, I didn’t have much time to study his game. For what I could see, he wins most of his fights by TKO, but I hadn’t time to sit and watch his fights to find out if those TKO came from his ground and pound our ground game, I don’t know.

The fact that he is a countryman changes anything in your mind or do you see him just as an ordinary opponent?

I believe it doesn’t change a thin, I see him as any other opponent, I believe that in there no nationality matters, there’re two athletes trying to do their best and trying to show all he’s been training and set an example for people to follow, so I believe that it doesn’t matter.

How is your expectation for this division? When do you intend to take higher levels to reach the top again?

From the moment my last fight ended, when I fought for the title, on the next day I started to work on that again so I could get another chance. It’s your routine, a bunch of things actually, a sum up, it’s not one specific thing that makes a difference but what you do on your daily trainings, what do you train, your attitudes, and that’s what makes you get there. And it started right after my last fight.

Independently of your trainings, do you believe that there’s a day when the fighter is “gifted”, lucky or do you think that the good results come only because of his trainings?

I believe more on the trainings, and if that exists, the percentage is very small and the athlete has to be trained to take advantage of it, because if he’s not trained, it’ll never be “his” day, because when he gets the chance, he won’t grab the guy the same way he’d do if it wasn’t “his” day, so I believe on the hard work.

If you have another chance for the belt, what will you do differently?

I don’t think about it yet, but I believe that when I have another chance to dispute the belt I’ll be a new fighter, because we, as athletes, have to adapt and keep learning new things all the time and I hope to be prepared so I won’t let another chance pass me by.

What is different about Demian from when you joined UFC and Demian nowadays? Do you think you are more mature now?

For sure, after eight fights on Ultimate I’m starting to feel like an experienced guy, I evolved a lot technically too, not only on my stand up game, but also my Jiu-Jitsu, just as on my conditioning, which I’m always working on, the strengthen work, everything… So, nowadays I can say I’m a better professional fighter thank I was when I joined UFC.

How is the physical training you have been doing along with Rafael Alejarra going?

The physic part is a very important support for the time of the fight, because what you’ll do there is to fight, but the conditioning is an essential part of the preparation. Nowadays, everyone works on that and it must be done, because the level of UFC’s fighters is very high.

What can your fans hope of you on this next fight? Another submission?

It’s what I always hope for, but what I can promise is that I’ll get there prepared to do that fight and show my best. That is what I promise, and is the only thing I can assure. The rest is not up to me and it’ll depend on the situation and of God.