By Andy Cotterill
It’s fight week, and all of the hard work is over for Adam ‘Maverick” Assenza.
No more gruelling training sessions.
No more challenging his body.
Now it’s time to go into maintenance mode and make sure that both his body and his mind are ready to square off against a dangerous opponent in front of a large crowd of fight fans at the Seneca Niagara Resort & Casino in Niagara Falls, NY on Friday night.
The Burlington, Ontario based Assenza (16-6 MMA) will be facing Brazil’s Jose Cleiton De Melo Jr, aka Junior Melo (11-5) in the main event of the highly regarded American promotion, the Legacy Fighting Alliance.
Assenza told MM-eh repeatedly that he loves to entertain when he fights, and that he thinks that Melo will be a great opponent to help him do just that.
“He’s a well rounded fighter.” Assenza said. “He’s a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt, he’s good at striking, he’s good everywhere and he’s tough. I can’t wait to get in there and and go to war.”
Before a fighter accepts a fight they should self-evaluate their skillset and compare it against that of their opponent, and the most successful fighters are the ones who can make the most accurate comparisons.
Although Assenza gives Melo legitimate praise, he clearly thinks that this is a fight that not only will he win, but one in which he’ll be able to showcase his skills.
“It’s gonna look entertaining and you’re gonna see some stuff you’ve probably never seen before.” Assenza said enthusiastically.
“You know I like to show off a little bit. I like to be an exciting fighter, that’s just how I fight. That’s just the way that I am.”
Assenza has had the majority of his fights in Ontario, but he has fought in the USA previously and this will be his first time with LFA.
When asked what LFA fans, and those watching on UFC Fight Pass can expect to see when they tune in Assenza had this to say.
“If you look at my resume it’s full of either UFC vets or undefeated top prospects, and fighting is fun to me, like I enjoy fighting, you know?”
Melo is neither a UFC vet nor an undefeated prospect, but what he is can’t be ignored. Melo is a mature, experienced fighter with the proven ability to finish fights by both knock out or submission. In other words, he’s not someone to be trifled with.
Although Assenza is aware of this, he’s confident that whatever happens inside of the cage, it will be him that’s victorious.
“I honestly can’t call it because every time I think about it it ends up a different way. But I know there’s gonna be a lot of good striking. I know there’s gonna be a lot of good wrestling in there and probably some jiu jitsu too. I can’t call this one to be honest with you but yeah, well, my hand will be raised.”
Adam Assenza will be cornered by Paul Jalbert and Ross Mylet.
Adam Assenza is sponsored by:
MPC Fitness
Endorphins Health & Wellness
50 Pesos Tacos
Ferreira Signature Line
Maverick Protein
Grungy Gentlemen