Jhonata Diniz admits he had to go for the safe win against Alvin Hines at UFC 317
Diniz (9-1 MMA, 3-1 UFC) outworked Hines (7-1 MMA, 0-1 UFC) to open the prelims at T-Mobile Arena. Hines stepped in for Justin Tafa on less than three weeks' notice, and Diniz said that change of opponent influenced how he wanted to fight.
'I knew the pace in this fight would be the difference in the victory,' Diniz said. 'I know most big guys in the heavyweight division don't have good cardio. I always want to bring a war like that and bring a fast pace.'
Diniz was working off the first loss of his MMA career, which came this past November against Marcin Tybura from a doctor's stoppage at UFC 309. A second straight loss at heavyweight never is a good thing in the UFC, so the Brazilian said leaving UFC 317 with a win was of paramount importance.
'… It's not my fight style. I hate fighting like that. But they already changed my opponent for 2.5 weeks of preparation. I had to make a safe fight to get the victory.'
Check out Diniz's post-fight interview in the video below.
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