Igor Pokrajac – Ready for the Gold Coast and The Mexicutioner
By Dave Carpinello
The UFC has once again ventured into new territories as the finale for the first-ever Australian-filmed season of The Ultimate Fighter will take place in Queensland’s Gold Coast. The event will be held this Saturday, December 15th (Friday, December 14th in North America) at the Gold Coast Convention and Entertainment Centre and will be headlined by a lightweight bout between The Ultimate Fighter: Australia vs. UK – The Smashes coaches George Sotiropoulos and Ross Pearson.
Also on that card, Croatian mixed martial artist and UFC light-heavyweight contender Igor Pokrajac takes on ‘The Mexicutioner’ Joey Beltran. Pokrajac will be looking to rebound from a submission loss to Vinny Magalhães at UFC 152 that came following a three-fight win streak in the UFC.
As with most UFC events (if not all) this year, Pokrajac versus Beltran was not the originally match-up but when Anthony Perosh nearly lost his big toe Pokrajac got the call from the UFC brass. Pokrajac (25-9) has had an up and down UFC career so far going 4-4 during his time with the organization but he does hold notable victories over Krzysztof Soszynski, Fabio Maldonado and James Irvin.
The Croatian Top Team fighter recently talked with PDG and here is what he had to say:
PDG: What was your training schedule leading up to your fight The Ultimate Fighter “The Smashes” this weekend?
Igor Pokrajac: I was training two times per day, my first training was at 6:30 in the morning and after that I would go to work at my company. The second training session of the day would be after work around five o’clock. Each training session lasts close to three hours with morning condition/cardio and then in the afternoon it was boxing and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
PDG: What are your thoughts on your opponent Joey ‘The Mexicutioner’ Beltran?
Igor Pokrajac: He is a brave fighter that has a good chin, a fighter that looks forward to trading punches inside the cage.
PDG: What advantages do you see for yourself going into this fight?
Igor Pokrajac: I am the better fighter in the ground and pound department and I have had more fights and experience fighting in the 205lb division.
PDG: The UFC is expanding across the globe daily, do you think a UFC event in Croatia would do well as far as attendance and attention?
Igor Pokrajac: It would be great if the UFC comes to Croatia one day and I get the opportunity to be in the main event. An even better scenario would be that the UFC does an Ultimate Fighter Croatia and I get to be one of the coaches.
PDG: You have obviously traveled a lot for fights throughout your career; what impact does it have on your body flying from Eastern Europe to the US and then to Australia?
Igor Pokrajac: I was in Australia two years ago and I have traveled a lot the last ten years and so it doesn’t impact my body as much as it used too. Also in my last week of training before I leave Croatia I do my practices at the same time as when the fight will be in the country I am fighting in. This time around I was doing my training sessions at two o’clock in the morning.
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