Danny Castillo looking to make quick work of Shane Roller.
Danny Castillo is straightforward when he talks about his WEC 44 match against Shane Roller.
” I don’t think he’s even going to take the chance of getting hit with a big shot,” Castillo told MMAMadness.com. “He comes from a good camp. If he has a smart game plan, he’s going to keep it to the ground, try to take down, and my game plan is to use good footwork and sprawl and brawl.”
Roller was a three-time Division I All American wrestler at Oklahoma State, and Castillo, a former NAIA All American, knows that he is in for a battle.
“His background in wrestling is probably one of the best in the WEC if not the best in terms of wrestling and accolades and so on,” Castillo said. “It’s going to be a real tough fight.”
Castillo expects to see a mental toughness out of Roller consistent with high caliber wrestlers.
”Those wrestlers that wrestle at that high of a level are tough to break mentally and tough to psyche out so I’m prepared for a battle, a real war,” Castillo said.
While Castillo recognizes Roller’s strengths, he is also confident in his own abilities. A first round TKO over previously undefeated Ricardo Lamas at WEC 42 has served as more fuel.
” As the weeks go by I’m peaking in my strength and conditioning,” Castillo said. “I’m feeling fast, and when you have a good session on those mitts and your punches are snapping, and the feet come together, it’s a great feeling.”
Castillo has also heard whispers that this fight could have title implications, but rather than look ahead, he tries to stay focused on the task at hand.
”I just really train for each fight, and I’m really confident that if I have a good training camp, and I’m healthy, and I have the right game plan, I can beat anyone in the WEC,” Castillo said. ” My confidence is really high, but I am a humble fighter so I know that having too much confidence can also be a downfall.”
Still, a win would give Castillo four straight victories in the WEC, and he feels the pressure to continue to string wins together.
” There’s not too many people that have won four straight in the WEC and the ones that have have belts around their waist,” Castillo said. ” It puts a little bit of pressure, but it’s not bad pressure, it’s good pressure. It’s the pressure I need to motivate me to fight.”
The way Castillo approaches each fight virtually guarantees that there will be pressure.
“Every fight I take is the most important fight of my life, so this is definitely a really important fight,” Castillo said.
If he does beat Roller at WEC 44, the next most important fight of his life could be for championship gold.
