Mostapha Al-Turk was originally scheduled to take on Todd Duffee as part of the UFC 99 fight card, but Duffee was later replaced with the recent comeback of PrideFC superstar Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. Although Al-Turk understands how good of a fighter Cro Cop is, he still seems pretty much focused and ready for just about anyone.
The former 2005 ADCC European champion and former Cage Rage heavyweight champion lost his UFC debut fight to Cheick Kongo via TKO (strikes) at UFC 92. Now, the British fighter tells us that he is ready to step up his game a bit further no matter who his opponent will be. His opponent was given to him as a short notice, but these things tend to happen at time in the fight game.
Snip From Al-Turk himself as he prepares for his second fight in the octagon:
“I suppose nowadays in the fight game there are no easy fights. I’m stepping up as usual and hoping to take a big scalp come June 13th. I feel good. I feel like I’ve got the tools and the know-how and the skill to deal with him and beat him…. You know, I’ve got a good stand-up game — probably not as good as his — and I’ve got a good ground game. I’m a good wrestler. My jiu-jitsu’s good. I’ve got a good chance and I believe in myself, that’s the most important thing…. It’s only three and a half weeks away. It is quite short notice, but hey, you know, I’m stepping up and I’m going to take it to him. We’ve had to change all the training. It is quite short notice, and it is a steep learning curve to change my game. I’ve been working eleven weeks to deal with Todd Duffee, but that’s changed now and true intelligence is adaptation to environment, so if I can adapt to my environment I can demonstrate true intelligence.”
