Klidson Abreu didn’t get a chance to make his UFC debut with a full training camp behind him earlier this year, but hopes to rebound Saturday.
Abreu (14-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) takes on Sam Alvey (33-12-1 MMA, 10-7 UFC), who boasts 19 knockouts on his resume, on the UFC on ESPN 4 prelims at AT&T Center in San Antonio. And Abreu knows where he plans to take the fight since he thinks he’ll have the advantage on the ground.
“It’s going to be great,” Abreu recently told MMA Junkie. “I’ve been watching his fights. He’s very experienced and well-regarded. I think it’s going to be a great fight. He’s a great knockout artist. I’ll put my game into practice. I’m a jiu-jitsu fighter. Jiu-jitsu got me this far. I don’t feel his ground skills are too good. I’ll take him down and do my work.”
After a six-fight winning streak that included becoming a champion for Brave Combat Federation, Abreu’s momentum was halted when he lost his UFC debut on short notice to Magomed Ankalaev by unanimous decision.
He suffered a broken foot in a submission win over Anton Vyazigin for M-1 Challenge in November 2018 before getting the UFC call to fight Ankalaev, a fight he got just three weeks’ notice for at UFC on ESPN+ 3.
“I went there, fought, and won but I broke my foot,” Abreu said. “That was in November. I broke my fourth metatarsus. Around February of this year, I was able to start using that foot again in training. And with about three weeks’ notice, I was invited to fight in the UFC. Magomed Ankalaev’s opponent had dropped out due to injury. I wanted to test myself against a skilled and tough opponent in the world’s biggest organization.”
Due to the short-notice call, Abreu came in four pounds overweight. But Saturday, he said he’s looking forward to a fight with a full training camp behind him.
“I didn’t manage to make weight because I had been too heavy after breaking my foot,” Abreu said. “I thought I fought pretty well at first, but after he landed a good uppercut, I couldn’t perform as well. My nose was broken from the first round. He did a good job. This time around, I’m having a full camp. I’m wrapping things up at American Top Team prior to facing Sam Alvey.”
Abreu spent some of his training camp in Brazil, and the rest at American Top Team in South Florida. With an array of submission wins on his record, Abreu may try to utilize his ground skills against Alvey. He even owns a submission win over current top light heavyweight contender Johnny Walker when the two fought in 2015.
“I trained with former Bellator champ Rafael Carvalho, at LA Sports (in Curitiba, Brazil), prior to heading to American Top Team in Florida,” Abreu said. “I’ll be at 100 percent for this fight. This will be the fight of my life. I feel very proud to have such a good opponent.”
The young Brazilian is looking to make noise in the light heavyweight division, a division that regularly seems rife for young, up-and-coming talent.
“With a win, I want to fight again as quickly as possible,” Abreu said. “I’m 26 years old. I’m very hungry. I love to fight. I want to grow within the promotion. And with time, I hope to go for the belt.”
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