There is a familiar story that goes around in MMA on the regional scene, fighter signs on for a fight but ultimately pulls out of the fight at the last moment due to various reasons.
American Top Team flyweight Marcelo Castaneda had to deal with this back in December when he was scheduled to be on the Fight Time 22 event in South Florida.
“My opponent pulled out at the very last second — day of the weigh-ins,” Castaneda told The MMA Report. “We had a pre weigh-in on Monday and we had the official weigh-ins on Thursday. He shows up to the pre weigh-in and he is basically within six pounds but when it comes to fight day, all of a sudden, he says he can not make weight and has a bunch of excuses. Basically saying he does not want to fight and the fight was called off.”
Castenada (4-0) still weighed in for the fight and made weight at 124.6 pounds. The promotion paid him is show purse and immediately booked him for a fight, which will take place tomorrow night in Miami against Miguel Restrepo at Fight Time 23. Restrepo is out of MMA Masters, which is also located in South Florida near American Top Team. MMA Masters has produced several fighters that have gone to the UFC and Castaneda stated there is a rivalry going on between the two schools.
“Any school that is not American Top Team is a rival against us,” he explained. “We are the big dogs here in the state of Florida and they are definitely a rivalry between us, MMA Masters, Blackzilians, and any other gym around the area. We are the most dominant one. They are always trying to win as much as they can, but it’s usually the other way around. We are usually pretty dominant.”
Tomorrow night will be the first fight for Castaneda since defeating Jovan White by TKO in the first round 370 days ago at Maxx FC 23. Is Castaneda a believer in the theory of cage rust like some people in the combat sports community?
“To be honest with you, ring rust — I think is all sociology. I am real strong mentally and I have put the work in the gym. I am 100 percent prepared and expect no ring rust what’s so ever. If anything, I am a much better fighter than I was a year ago.”
When it comes to the man that will stand across from him tomorrow night, Castaneda knows the type of fighter he will be facing and a key will be to fight smart.
“This guy is a gamer. He has a brown belt in jiu-jitsu so I have to fight him smart but at the same time, he is real slow and that is my power — my speed and my footwork. I am basically looking to pick him apart and then once I land a quick shot to hurt him, try to finish the fight. Also, once again, fight smart because he is a top notch grappler.”
To hear the complete interview with Castaneda, check out tomorrow’s episode of The MMA Report Live to hear everything he had to say.