Chael Sonnen isn't the only guy who likes to pick on Brazilians.
His fellow Oregonian, UFC welterweight Mike Pierce, gets a kick out of it, too. And it's paying off in getting fights.
"I don't know if it facilitated it, but it sure got a lot of attention from Erick Silva fans," Pierce (13-5 MMA, 5-3 UFC) told MMAjunkie.com Radio (MMAjunkie.com Radio | MMAjunkie.com).
Of course, Silva is not who Pierce is fighting next – despite Pierce's online assertion that the Brazilian is "an easy fight." That job goes to Carlos Eduardo Rocha (9-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), whom Pierce meets at UFC on FX 3 on June 8 at a location to be announced.
"That's fine," Pierce said. "It's just a different Brazilian."
Pierce has taken a page from Sonnen's book in recent weeks by calling himself "an Oregon gangster" and going after Brazil on Twitter. The two have trained together in Portland, Ore.
"Man I'm ready!" he wrote a month after a split-decision loss to Josh Koscheck at UFC 143, which he jokingly said he won if not for announcer Bruce Buffer's flub. "Are there any Brazilians at 170 [or] did they all bump up to 185? Looking for an easy fight"
Then: "WANTED: no work ethic, no cardio, terrible striking and limited ground game. Brazilians, please send fight applications to (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva."
The attacks are all in good fun, Pierce said. He might have a hard time proving Rocha has a limited ground game seeing that the Brazilian has submitted eight of his 10 opponents, seven of them in the first round. But hey, they've gotten him noticed.
"They're just fun to beat up on," Pierce said of his South American counterparts. "I have a submission win over a Brazilian guy last time, and I'm looking for another finish this time, and I'm pretty sure I'll get it."
Not surprisingly, Pierce is less than impressed with his upcoming opponent, who most recently suffered the first loss of his pro career against contender Jake Ellenberger.
Although Pierce is comfortable in all ranges, he said he takes a certain satisfaction in beating jiu-jitsu specialists with his wrestling.
"There is a little fun in that, but I don't care where the fight goes," he said. "I'm just going to kick this guy's ass and move on."
After all, there are plenty of other targets out there.
I like this guy, seems like a pretty nice and decent guy and he isn't crazy like his fellow gangster Chael P. Sonnen.
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