Rafael Natal is riding a three-fight winning streak and has a 6-2 mark since 2013. That puts him in a solid position in the UFC’s middleweight division, but he said he’s not willing to resort to Conor McGregor-esque tactics to boost his profile.
McGregor (19-2 MMA, 7-0 UFC) has become the constant point of comparison for fighters and their willingness to do the dirty work of trash-talking to hype upcoming events. The brash Irishman has become a superstar while backing up his talk with his fists, capturing the featherweight title with a 13-second knockout of Jose Aldo at UFC 194.
Despite the McGregor blueprint, Natal told MMAjunkie that it’s simply not his style to use his mouth to sell a fight.
“Conor McGregor likes to do a lot of talking,” Natal said. “So if someone addresses me like that, I’ll answer in kind. But I won’t be the one to start it. I know there are money and popularity to be made from controversy. But that’s not how I was raised by my family. It’s not part of who I am. I don’t feel right acting like that. Even if I could make more money by trash-talking, it’s not my style. I’d rather prove myself inside the cage, even if it means less money.”
Natal fights tonight at UFC on FOX 18. He faces Kevin Casey (9-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) on the FOX Sports 1-televised preliminary card ahead of a main card on FOX from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
He looks to build on his most recent win, a split decision over Uriah Hall at UFC 187 this past May. It was an important win, but he’s yet to have the ability to build on it due to a detached retina.
“I had to have two critical surgeries,” Natal said. “My doctors weren’t sure if I could fight again. But thankfully my surgeries were very successful. I couldn’t fight for some time since my doctors asked me to recover 100 percent before coming back. That’s why I was far from the scene for a while. This was the first time since I started my career when I didn’t train at all for two months. But I came back reenergized. I came back very hungry.”
Casey has had one of the more unique runs in UFC history. He’s fought three times since July 2014 but has only one official result to show for it. A win in Casey’s return to the octagon was overturned to a no-contest after he failed a post-fight drug test following a destruction of Bubba Bush; he followed that up with a unanimous-decision win over Ildemar Alcantara. In his most recent fight, Casey took an eye-poke from Antonio Carlos Junior that rendered him unable to continue after only 11 seconds.
Despite the oddness that seems to follow Casey into the cage, Natal said he’s aware of the dangers posed by the 34-year-old.
“Kevin Casey is a very tough fighter,” Natal said. “He’s got great jiu-jitsu and very heavy hands. He’s dangerous both on the feet and on the ground. He’s looking for his place in the promotion. Unfortunately, he’s had the misfortune of failing a PED test. And his last fight ended with an eye-poke. But between those two fights, he defeated Ildemar Alcantara by decision, who’s a very difficult opponent.
“I think Kevin is a fighter who has a good future, but not against me. He might take some steps forward later, but with me he’ll be taking a step back. I’m more established in the UFC. And I wanted a better known opponent. Tough, sure, everybody is. But I want ranked opponents. I’ll be fighting at home. So let’s go to war, and hopefully have a good result.”
For more on UFC on FOX 18, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
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