Alessio Di Chirico expects to derail the hype of Joaquin Buckley and remain a UFC fighter

Alessio Di Chirico knows his UFC Fight Island 7 fight against Joaquin Buckley is do-or-die for his UFC career.

Di Chirico is on a three-fight losing streak and many were surprised he was fighting Buckley who is on a winning streak. However, the Italian was excited when he got the call to fight Buckley.

“I’m very excited about this fight. It’s a good matchup,” Di Chirico said to BJPENN.com. “I think I paid my dues in the UFC. I’m not interested in being in peripheral areas of the ranking anymore, I don’t pick and choose my opponents. I love to fight the best fighter I can fight and I think Joaquin is one of them so let’s go.”

Entering this fight, Alessio Di Chirico knows the pressure is on to win. With his second son arriving in March, the Italian knows he has to win this for his family to remain a UFC fighter.

“It means everything for me, my family, for my first son, and for the second who’s arriving in March,” the Italian said. “I would put everything I got into the fight. I’m very disappointed about my last results even if I’m sure I won two of my last three fights but the judges didn’t see it that way and that’s it, it’s okay.”

The 31-year-old in Di Chirico knows Buckley will be coming out with a high-pace looking for the knockout.

However, the Italian has never been knocked out in his career and knows if he can bring Buckley into the later rounds he can have success.

“You can bet it will be one of the best fights of the night,” Di Chirico said. “We’re two very well rounded fighters, I’m not gonna tell you what my fight plan is but you can bet there will be action.”

If Alessio Di Chirico does beat Buckley, he knows it will derail the hype of the KO artist and add some hype to his name.

Not only would the win be the biggest of his career, but he believes if he can beat Buckley, he can start calling the shots on who he wants next.

“I think a win over Buckley could give me the hype I deserve but I don’t wanna talk about it,” Di Chirico concluded. “First I need to get the ball then I’ll go for a touchdown. If I lose my focus it will become another incomplete pass and in my recent UFC career I have had too many incomplete passes. I’d like to fight as soon as possible, I feel good, I want to fight the best guys in the UFC.”

Who do you think will win, Joaquin Buckley or Alessio Di Chirico?