• UFC 132

Andre Winner bids to avoid Russian sniper at UFC 132

Ben Blackmore
June 23, 2011
Andre Winner was choked out by Dennis Siver © Getty Images
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Andre Winner admits he is out to silence his team-mates when he takes on Anthony Njokuani at UFC 132 next week.

Winner trains out of the Rough House team in England, alongside the likes of Dan Hardy, Ross Pearson, Jimmy Wallhead and Dean Amasinger.

The TUF 9 runner-up has had to deal with some light-hearted abuse since his last loss to Dennis Siver at UFC 122. Siver was beaten by Pearson in the previous 12 months, opening up obvious opportunities for banter.

More comical to the Rough House team, though, was the manner in which Winner hit the mat when Siver dropped him en route to a submission victory.

"Jimmy Wallhead said I looked like I'd been shot in the back by a Russian sniper!" Winner told ESPN. "He always tells me: 'You saw a little red dot and bang, you were assassinated'.

"I can take it on the chin," added Winner, before team-mate Amasinger chipped in: "Clearly you can't!"

Winner has the chance to silence those jibes on July 2 when he fights Njokuani, and he insists he will be fuelled by complete frustration after the suffocating tactics of Nik Lentz, followed by the "silly combination" that cost him against Siver.

"I've got a lot of frustration. In my last fight I was comfortable and then I got caught throwing a combination from way too far out. And the Nik Lentz fight, we all know that was a frustration, boring fight.

"I threw a silly combination from too far out [against Siver]. I threw an uppercut/hook combination, they're shorter-type punches, and obviously from range that opens you up. I ran onto a punch and I felt it!"

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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