This Wednesday night, the most famous Croatian MMA heavyweight fighter, Dubrovnik’s very own Ante Delija, will fight for the title of champion of the Professional Fighters League tournament and will have the opportunity to win a million dollars. Fight Site found out the amount of pressure Ante is under and what this fight means to him compared to some earlier fights, including his first encounter with Bruno Cappelozzo.
“There is definitely a bit more pressure with this fight knowing the stakes, but for me every fight must be looked at the same way – I know what my job is. I have to be into every fight one hundred percent, this one as well as every fight before it and every fight after it. I’m going there to win, no matter what the stakes are. I’m trying not to overthink,” said Ante, immediately adding that this time he definitely has to do certain things differently, in order to avoid the outcome that happened in May.
“I have definitely learned a lot. I must change my complete approach, but I am ready for that. I will have my revenge for that last defeat,” he said.
The big stage is not new to Ante, after the fights he did in Russia and Rizin, he sees it as his advantage.
“So far, I think that I’ve fought against good fighters, certainly better than the ones Bruno fought throughout his career and those experiences have prepared me for this fight,” he stated.
Of course, none of this could pass without questions about the fighting legend Cro Cop Mirko Filipović. The media especially loved the connection between Cro Cop and Ante, the mentor and the student. In a recently published video announcement before Ante’s performance, Mirko revealed how much he expects from Ante and how much he believes in him.
“It means a lot when a man who has gone through so much and achieved so much believes in you, someone who has so much experience. It is certainly a huge motivation for me, I know and feel I can do everything he believes I can,” Delija concluded.
