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Yan Cabral ready to set aside friendship with UFC Fight Night 87 opponent Reza Madadi

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Yan Cabral is coming off a tough unanimous decision loss to Johnny Case in his most recent bout. After watching the fight 10 times, he still hasn’t wrapped his head around how the judges scored the bout.

Cabral (12-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC) will look to get his career back on track Sunday when he faces Reza Madadi (13-4 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 87. The bout opens the FOX Sports 1 prelims, ahead of a main card on the same network and following early prelims on UFC Fight Pass. The event takes place from Ahoy Rotterdam in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The two men are friends, according to Cabral. But he told MMAjunkie he’s ready to fight, despite their solid relationship.

“I’ve known Reza Madadi for some time now,” Cabral said. “I’ve even had the same manager here in Europe. I’ve watched many of his fights. We have a good relationship. We’re friends. He’s very tough. He remains aggressive throughout the fight. He moves forward in every round. Once the cage door closes, let’s see what happens.”

Part of his eagerness to fight someone he considers a friend may be a desire to rid the taste of a bitter defeat.

While all three judges scored the bout 29-28 for Case (22-5 MMA, 4-1 UFC), MMADecisions.com shows a near 50-50 split in fan and media scoring for the bout. Many fighters don’t rewatch their losses, but Cabral kept looking for ways to explain the scoring.

He said he hasn’t been able to figure out what went through the judges’ minds that night but can find some fault in his inability to finish the fight.

“I didn’t agree with the decision against Johnny Case,” Cabral said. “A lot of other folks feel the same way. I’ve watched it 10 times and I didn’t see how he earned a victory. Though it was a hotly-contested fight, and I didn’t perform to the best of my potential. So it’s on me for leaving it to the judges, since I had the opportunity to win the fight early. I can’t complain now. And regarding my only other defeat, against Zak Cummings, that one I truly lost. He was the better fighter that day. ”

Cabral also has the opportunity to battle on his home turf for the first time in his UFC career. While he is Brazilian, he said he considers Europe his home for fighting after living there for 10 years.

“I’ve been living in Europe for 10 years now,” Cabral said. “I spent a little time in Brazil recently, but I live in Barcelona, where I have my new academy. I consider myself European when it comes to fighting since this is where I built my career. And if the fans are rooting for Reza, that’s fine too. Once the door closes, it’s just the two of us. We’re going to put on a show.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 87, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.

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