Anton Turkalj likes fighting on short notice, Petrino doesn’t look as good.
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Confidence is not lacking for UFC light heavyweight Anton Turkalj, and he will let you know. But first, he faces Vitor Petrino at UFC Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Turkalj (8-1) hasn’t fought since September 2022, when he lost to Jailton Almeida at UFC 279. He returned after a break to face Petrino in Las Vegas, but that wasn’t his preferred timeline.
“I want to go back sooner. But this time we didn’t want to quarrel or rush things. We need a proper camp. And that’s what we do. And now we’ve arrived. If I could choose, I’d be here sooner. But my coach… We got a proper camp. But not a short notice,” Turkalj told reporters on Wednesday.
“I actually like the short notice because (I) don’t have to go to camp,” says Turkalj with a smile.
Obviously, the coach and the boxer had disagreements on how long he should fight.
“He just called me lazy because I didn’t want to work out. And I just needed a quick note, a shortcut, that’s what he always said to me,” he said.
Standing before him this time was Petrino, who made his UFC debut following a KO win at Dana White’s Contender Series last September.
“I saw him and I thought it would be a good match for me. Very easy money,” said Turkalj.
Turkalj said he did not think Petrino had the conditions to qualify for three rounds in the octagon with him.
“He’s like a muscular guy, looks good, but it doesn’t matter how good you look, it’s MMA,” he said.
Turkalj agrees that Petrino joined the UFC based on his looks.
“One hundred percent. He is almost as handsome as me,” says Turkalj.
Watch the all-day media fight with Anton Turkalj above. He faces Vitor Pretino at UFC Las Vegas on Saturday night.
