UFC 127 – Tom Blackledge predicts a tough fight against Perosh but will look to end the fight suddenly

UK light heavyweight stand-out, Tom Blackledge has been speaking about his UFC 127 preliminary card bout with Anthony Perosh later tonight in Sydney, Australia, explaining he knows he’s in for a tough scrap but feels the quicker he ends the fight the better it will be for him.
Speaking via MMAWeekly.com, Blackledge said:

“He’s a tough guy with good cardio. I think his biggest strength is in his grappling ability, and his weakness is in his striking, although, I haven’t felt the need to work on any specifics in preparation for this fight (just a complete MMA game). The quicker I can get it done the better. I want it be an exciting fight, but I think that I will finish it quickly. It’ll be entertaining for the fans while it happens though.

“Training has gone really well. The mood in camp is extremely good and everyone has been really happy. I have had my usual coaches Dave Jackson, Mario Sukata, Mark Kinney, and Barrie Edwards pushing me, but also all the other Wolfslair guys as well as Ricco Rodriguez, which was great.”

“The TUF experiences whet my appetite and because I have fought in Japan and Amsterdam, I felt some of that pressure that people always talk about. The pressure on fighters now is massive. It’s not an easy sport, but I always perform better when there is a bigger crowd. I have had to deal with nerves and fears before. There was a patch there in my career where it was a big problem for me, but that’s all gone now and I just want to show what I can do.”

Blackledge was due to make his UFC debut back in October at UFC 120 against James McSweeney when injury struck him down and forced him to withdraw from the fight. Now he’s back and reportedly flying in training, something that will need to be true if he’s to stop tough veteran, Anthony Perosh in this one.