BAMMA 5 – James McSweeney refuses to underestimate Rodriguez, would turn down an immediate return to the UFC

“Ultimate Fighter” season ten cast member, James McSweeney has been speaking about his fight tomorrow night with former UFC heavyweight champion, Ricco Rodriguez at BAMMA 5, explaining the veteran is definitely not someone to be underestimated despite not exactly looking chiselled.
Speaking via Fights Only Magazine, McSweeney said:

“A guy like that, over 50 fights and the calibre of guys he has fought… You can’t write him off. Never ever. He might look a bit flabby on the outside in places but you can start fighting guys like that and they will take shots all day. Remember [Wesley] ‘Cabbage’ Correira? Or look at Roy Nelson.”

On his future in the sport and whether he’s looking for a fast-track back to the UFC, McSweeney said:

“If the UFC offered me a contract tomorrow if I win this fight, I would probably turn it down. I wouldn’t want to be back in there for at least another twelve months. I just want to get more fights and more experience.”

“With the UFC you fight once every four or five months, right? When I was a thai boxer, I would fight once or twice a month. So I want to be busier over this next year and just get myself to that level. The UFC is the elite of the elite. When I go back I want to be ready.”

Rodriguez is on a ten-fight winning streak at present and also holds notable wins over the likes of Andrei Arlovski, Jeff Monson and Randy Couture. It is well publicised that he is trying to engineer a return to a major promotion in 2011 and this could be the perfect way to do it. As for McSweneny, his run with the Las Vegas based promotion came to an end when he lost back-to-back fights to Travis Browne and Fabio Maldonado at the back end of 2010.