Francisco Rivera: "I don't think anybody can take my best punch"
The words 'UFC jitters' get tossed around quite often for any debuting competitor about to step inside the world famous Octagon for the first time. It's a nerve-racking experience from the walk out from behind the curtain to the time Bruce Buffer is shouting their name.
But nerves can get to the best fighters in the world as well and Francisco Rivera would be the first one to admit to it.
A six-fight undefeated streak precipitated Rivera's last fight against Takeya Mizugaki at UFC 173 and with a win there was little doubt he could have cracked the top five in the division for the first time in his career.
Unfortunately the fight went downhill in a hurry with Rivera barely looking like himself in the Octagon that night and Mizgaki rolled to a shutout, unanimous decision victory. As he sits just hours away from his next fight at UFC 181 on Saturday night, Rivera is honest enough to know the moment got to him.
"Going into the fight I was thinking too much. Instead of going out there and having fun, I went out there acting like it was a job. Thinking 'I can't lose, I can't lose' and during the fight things happened and it changed my game plan," Rivera told FOX Sports.
"So this time I went back to having fun. I went back to enjoying it. Going into this fight just because it's Urijah Faber and he's been around so long doesn't mean anything. I'm still a fighter, he's still a fighter. I'm definitely going to go in there and do what I do best."
If facing Mizugaki on the main card of a pay-per-view was a nervous experience for Rivera, then what will he do in the featured bout of the preliminary card on FOX Sports 1 taking on Faber, who has never been defeated in a non-title fight?
Rivera says it's all about mindset and mental preparation.
He stopped over thinking things going into this fight and went back to the guy who loved being in the UFC because it was fun. Rivera liked being a part of exciting fights and as a result he just kept winning and winning until it stopped being fun for him.
"I can feel a big difference in my mind. I can see a big difference in this fight from the Mizugaki fight," Rivera said. "This time I'm not letting it get to me. Now I'm just out here having fun and when I look back in 10 or 15 years, this is something I can talk to my kids about."
Going into Saturday night, Rivera is the biggest underdog of the entire card. Faber has earned his spot as one of the best bantamweights in the world and it's hard to bet against a fighter who has gone through 38 professional fights and never dropped a bout in a non-title affair. In other words the odds are stacked against Rivera, but that's just the way he likes it.
All he has to do is touch Faber's chin with one of the sledgehammers he carries around in his hands and that undefeated record in title fights goes flying out the door.
"I don't think anybody can take my best punch," Rivera said. "I know if I connect and I'm pretty accurate, if I hit him in the right spot it's going to throw his whole game off. Renan Barao did that. Mike Brown did that. Urijah can take a beating, he's one of the toughest guys in the division so I have to make sure if I do hurt him, I have to make sure I finish him off."
