Pyle up for Brazilian roar
Brazil is set to become the eighth country on Mike Pyle's UFC passport when he faces Ricardo Funch in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
Last Updated: 10/01/12 12:14pm
Brazil is set to become the eighth country on Mike Pyle's UFC passport when he faces Ricardo Funch in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
The 36-year-old veteran has travelled across the world to pursue his UFC career, with visits to Europe and Asia as well as fights across his homeland of America.
Pyle got a taste of what he can expect to face when he was in the corner for Forrest Griffin at UFC 134 when he fought Mauricio Rua in front of 14, 000 Brazilians.
"I cannot wait to get there, I'm actually looking forward to the crowd booing me and all of that," Pyle told UFC.com.
"The Brazil crowd was very educated and stoked, and that was great to see. It was an awesome atmosphere."
Despite Funch fighting on home turf, Pyle is determined that he will win and that neither the crowd nor fighter will get the better of him.
"I will not be beaten in Brazil. I will die in that cage before I lose," Pyle added. "I'm going to put on a great show and finish Ricardo, end of story."
The Tennessee welterweight heads into his duel with Funch on the back of a TKO defeat to Canadian Rory MacDonald in his last outing which ended his three-fight winning streak.
As well as providing him with the motivation to overturn Funch, the defeat in Philadelphia prompted Pyle to enlist the help of a new coach, Nate Pettit.
