Chad Anheliger hoping for a “drawn-out war” against Heili Alateng at UFC 279: “I want this fight to be wild”

Chad Anheliger is excited to face Heili Alateng at UFC 279 and he’s confident it will be a fun fight for the fans.

Anheliger will be making the walk to the Octagon for the second time and will fight on the same card as his teammate Hakeem Dawodu. He will also be fighting in front of fans for the first time in the UFC which he’s excited about.

“It feels different man, I can feel some of that tingly nerves when I picture my fight and my walkout,” Anheliger said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “I’m visualizing it with 20 thousand fans in there and I’m super excited for it, it’s going to be awesome.”

When he got the offer to face Alateng, he admits he didn’t know much about him. However, once he began studying his fights he got more excited about the matchup as he expects it to be a back-and-forth striking fight.

“I looked him up, he wasn’t someone I knew much about or had my eye on or anything. When we got the offer it jumped off the page because he is an exciting fighter and brings a lot of power, and a lot of athleticism which is nothing I have dealt with before,” Anheliger said. “If the fight goes my way, it’s going to be very fan-friendly and I’ll be getting my hand raised.”

Although Heili Alateng is primarily a striker, Chad Anheliger expects his opponent to wrestle him wants he starts landing shots. He believes he has underrated striking, however, he expects this fight to go the distance as he knows Alateng is super durable.

Even if the fight goes the distance, Anheliger is expecting it to be a very fun fight and hopes it’s a war that sees both of them get dropped and bleeding.

“I do see this fight going the distance because he is tough and resilient, got good cardio, and is there to fight and everybody knows I’m there to fight and would never quit,” Anheliger said. “I want to go hard and push the pace, I really hope this is what I envision it being which is a drawn-out war, dropping each other, bleeding on each other, I want this fight to be wild.”

Should Anheliger get his hand raised at UFC 279, he hopes to fight one more time this year against a big-name opponent.

“It’s a big test, I know I can beat him but it really comes down to how exciting I can fight and how well. I don’t want to squeak one out, I want to outclass him and show the level I’m at, and if I do that I think I can get a big name next,” Anheliger said.

Do you think Chad Anheliger will beat Heili Alateng at UFC 279?