Jeremy Stephens: I don't care about Donald Cerrone's punching power

UFC on Fuel TV 3's Lightweight fighter Jeremy Stephens recently came out with some very candid comments about his opponent Donald Cerrone. Both fighters will be coming off a loss, and a win will be absolutely necessary to stay relevant in a class that is deeper than it ever has been. Pulling no punches in this latest interview, Stephens shows a lot of of confidence for this imperative bout. When questioned about drawing Cerrone into a toe-to-toe striking match, Stephens had the following to say:

“We'll see. He's coming off a loss. I'm coming off a loss. Both guys are hungry. We know we have to put on a show. This is a hyped up fight. I think he may be a little cocky and try to stand with me for a little bit. But again, I think he'll go for a takedown attempt. I'm well prepared for that. I'm going to defend the takedown, keep it standing and give the fans what they want in a knockout.” via USAToday.com

Jeremy Stephens must feel quite sure of his standup game, as he wishes to draw Cerrone into an arena he is no stranger to, having been a professional kickboxer himself. Maybe he is trying to send mix signals and not reveal his true game-plan. Either way, Stephens's main goal is to simply break the will of Donald Cerrone, something he stated by saying:

"Third round, Nate Diaz just kind of fingers him, and you just saw that look in Cowboy's eyes. Being around fighting and being a shark and smelling that blood, I kind of know what that look is like. If I see that look, I feel like your guy's in trouble. Just that look in Cowboy's eyes, I saw he broke. He just kind of accepted the double fingers to his face."

So, it will be Stephens's plan to be aggressive and break Cerrone, something that we have not seen from “The Cowboy” too much. While he did get beat decisively in his last outing, he had been on quite the hot streak prior to running into Nate Diaz. Still, Stephens thinks that his pressure will get the best of Donald Cerrone:

"Just pressure. Pressure, pressure, pressure. Come forward and just the constant tapping of just beating him up. No respect for his kicks, no respect for his punches. He (Diaz) got kicked in the head and just kept coming forward. Got tripped, knocked down, and just kept coming forward. When a guy's coming at you like Terminator, it could break your confidence a little bit. It breaks your momentum. When I come forward, we're definitely going to collide. It's going to be who's coming forward and who has the lack of respect for each others power. I couldn't care less about his punching power."

Both combatants will be looking to control the Octagon, and we could have an entertaining kickboxing war on our hands this Tuesday. Who will win this collision of two strong-willed fighters on May 15th?