MONTREAL, QC - MARCH 16: Chris Camozzi reacts after defeating Nick Ring in their middleweight bout during the UFC 158 event at Bell Centre on March 16, 2013 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Chris Camozzi was familiar with Vitor Miranda when the UFC came calling to offer him a matchup against the former "Ultimate Fighter: Brazil" competitor, but one thing stood out even more than Miranda's three consecutive knockouts.
It was his nickname.
Miranda goes by "Lex Luthor" inside the cage, and Camozzi couldn't help but chuckle and wonder why the Brazilian chose that as his nickname amongs all the superheroes and comic book characters out there.
Maybe it's Miranda's bald head that evokes the famous villain, but whatever it is, Camozzi has the counterattack for Lex Luthor.
"When I first heard that I was like, 'Who picks Lex Luthor as a nickname?'Out of all the characters or anything, Lex Luthor is just kind of out there," Camozzi said with a laugh when speaking to FOX Sports. "I'm just kind of baffled by it. Maybe I can get a Superman Reebok cape and jumpsuit."
All jokes aside, Camozzi knows this is a big fight for him coming off a 26-second February knockout in which he destroyed Joe Riggs. The win was a turning point for Camozzi, who says heading into that fight he stopped worrying so much about winning and instead focused on finishing every opponent standing across from him.
"I feel my mentality changed and something just clicked in my head that I just need to go for it. Stop trying to play to win and go for it. Go for the finish every chance I get. Push the pace and use my cardio. I'm going in there and I'm looking to finish," Camozzi said.
"I'm not telling myself I'm going in there to win anymore. I'm going in there to finish."
Camozzi plans on carrying that same attitude into his Sunday fight against Miranda as part of the main card airing on FS1 starting at 9 p.m. ET.
Stylistically, Miranda's heavy-handed striking is exactly what Camozzi wanted for his next fight after such a brutal knockout back in February. Miranda is a head hunter with knockout power in both hands and both feet, and the prospect of drawing him into a war is exactly what Camozzi wants.
Of course, for all the flashy finishes Miranda has amassed lately, Camozzi still isn't all that impressed.
"His style feeds mine really well," Camozzi said. "I don't think I've ever seen him shoot a takedown in any of the video I watched, but I think I'm the one that's going to make him shoot a takedown. I think he's never faced anybody like me. He's never faced any real high-caliber guys."
"I think I'm just better overall."
Camozzi also knows Miranda hasn't yet faced a high-level striker and says that's going to change when they finally meet. Camozzi believes if he's in attack mode, there's not much Miranda will be able to do about it, and the result should be another stunning knockout to add to his record.
"All the guys he's knocked out with head kicks were running away from him. I don't really run away from guys in any past fight, and I don't plan on it this time, either," Camozzi said.
"I'm a pressure fighter, and he seems like he's the one that likes to pressure guys. He fights with a traditional Muay Thai style, and that's not always the best for MMA, and I'll expose that."
A win would put Camozzi on a three-fight streak, and he would love to crack the top 15 by the end of the year, but first things first: He plans on finishing Miranda and getting a bonus and then he'll worry about the next victim later this year.
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