Parker Porter knows he’s fighting for his job on Saturday night at UFC 288.
Porter fought back in February and suffered a first-round knockout loss to Justin Tafa and just three months later, he is already making his return. Although it may seem quick after the loss, he says he was fully cleared and ready to get the bad taste of two straight losses out of his mouth.
“I was hoping to get back in there right around this time,” Porter said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “Then, after talking with my manager and stuff, the UFC is supposed to come back to Boston in August so that is what we were looking at cause that’s about as close to a hometown fight as I can get. Then, we got the call to jump on this May 6 card in New Jersey and I was like ‘absolutely, let’s do it.’”
Once Porter was ready to take a fight, he wasn’t sure what would be next but was open to facing anyone. Although he has fought six times in the UFC, he is taking on UFC newcomer Braxton Smith at UFC 288, who he admits he didn’t know much about.
“I didn’t even know his name before the call and then I found out this was his debut fight,” Porter said. “Doing my research on him, he has been on a tear since he came back. I don’t think he has fought anyone with my striking abilities and he hasn’t fought at the UFC level yet. Not to take anything from away the guys that stepped into the ring with him, but I’m not them… We are going to have some fun in New Jersey and I’m going to show everyone the work I have done since the last fight.”
As Parker Porter began to study Braxton Smith, the most obvious path to victory he saw was by taking it to the mat and extending the fight. He knows Smith is very dangerous early on, but Porter believes the longer the fight goes, the better it is for him, which will eventually lead to a stoppage win.
“I think that will be a big component in this fight. This guy seems to want to get things done as quickly as possible, comes forward and throws big bombs, and has big power,” Porter said. “If he can’t connect clean, if he gasses himself out, we are going to see what kind of power he has in the later rounds, if he can even keep his hands up…
“You will see a lot of good boxing, he likes to come forward and pressures forward and throws big bombs, lots of big power shots. I’m going to be patient, pick my shots, and if the opportunity for a takedown presents itself, I’m going to be looking for that because we haven’t seen anything out of him for his ground game. But, if it goes to the floor I think I can get a submission or a ground-and-pound finish,” Porter later added.
Not only is Porter looking to get back in the win column, but he is also fighting out his UFC deal which puts more pressure on him. But, he’s confident he will be able to get the stoppage win at UFC 288 over Smith and return later this summer in Boston.
“This is absolutely do-or-die. I try and look at every fight as do-or-die but this is even more so because it’s the last fight on this contract so I’ll be fighting for a new contract, too. I’ll be just as hungry, if not more hungry as I was in the Parisian fight to not let any mistakes come my way,” Porter concluded.
Do you think Parker Porter will finish Braxton Smith at UFC 288?
