Francisco Prado’s coach is clarifying his ‘you don’t need your eyes’ comment from UFC Mexico City.
UFC Mexico City took place this past Saturday, February 24th.
On the ticket was a lightweight bout between Francisco Prado (12-2 MMA) and Daniel Zellhuber (15-1 MMA).
It was after the round two that Prado returned to his corner advising his team he couldn’t see.
It was overheard by the UFC broadcast team that Prado’s coach, Zaidi, made the comment ‘you don’t need your eyes’.
Prado did return for round 3 but ultimately lost the fight with ‘Golden Boy’ by unanimous decision.
Speaking with MMA Junkie, Zaidi spoke about his ‘you don’t need your eyes’ comment saying:
“The translator said, ‘You don’t need your eyes. Fight. Go to the center. Just fight.’ I said, ‘You don’t need your eyes. If you fight in the clinch, you won’t need your eyes. Do not fight in the center of the ring. In the center, you need your eyes. Get him to the fence, wrestle and clinch fight him so you don’t rely on your eyes. Going into that third round, my fighter and I truly had a Rocky (Balboa) and (trainer) Mickey moment. Both of us were willing to die for a victory. He told me he couldn’t see, so I immediately gave him a strategy to continue fighting.”
Apparently, the phrase ‘lost in translation’ may have come into play. Zaidi continued:
“The translator, unfortunately, was not able to translate properly and made me sort of look like a psychopath – not that I mind. The translator is a great dude and just spazzed a bit. I told my fighter that his eyes are needed in long-range fighting. Do not fight the opponent in the center. He does not need his eyes if he fights in the clinch. I asked him to focus on striking in the clinch and grappling on the fence so he will not rely on his eyes.”
While many believed Francisco Prado shouldn’t have returned to the cage for round 3, Zaidi disagrees:
“It was very clearly 1-1 going into the third round. Whoever won that third round would take the fight. No fighter or coach on the planet would throw a towel in for that. It’s easy for a casual to ask to throw in the towel. Most casuals don’t understand the sacrifices a fighter goes through.”
Concluding, Zaidi said:
“Francisco, his training partners, my assistant coach (Mango) and I all left our families and have been living in a town in Mexico for three weeks – all of us in one small house, showering with buckets of water and grinding in the mountains. My fighter wouldn’t go through all that sacrifice only to give up in the third round of a close fight. We live by the sword and die by the sword. And I, too, am willing to die to see my fighter successful.”
The fight was awarded Fight of the Night honors with each fighter taking home an additional $50K.
Were you watching UFC Mexico City? Do you believe Zaidi did the right thing in putting Francisco Prado back out for round 3?
Share your thoughts in the comment section PENN Nation!
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