"Evan and I haven't been hyping the fight like that -- we're not saying anything bad about each other. We don't even know each other but we're just looking forward to competing. In the Ultimate Fighter house I hated two guys when I fought them. I hated Junie Browning and I hated Shane Nelson when I fought them. Cole Miller is a very respectful guy, we talked before and after, and I think Evan Dunham is a very respectful guy too. We can go out there and shake hands and then punch each other in the face because that's our job. I'm young in the sport and I'll fight anybody. I don't want to tell Joe Silva how to do his job but I just want to fight whoever they give me. If I were running out of time, if I didn't have many fights left, maybe I'd be worried about it, but I'm still young in this sport. I'm only 23 and I just need to keep winning."
The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) Season 8 champion Efrain Escudero (12-0) talks to MMA Fighting about continuing his meteoric rise through the lightweight division when he faces Evan Dunham (9-0) at UFC Fight Night 20 this Monday (Jan. 11) in Fairfax. "Hencho en Mexico" put an exclamation point on his TUF 8 crown with an impressive TKO stoppage over Cole Miller at UFC 103 last September. Is Escudero underrated in the 155-pound division? And who's next for the 155-pound star if he wins on Monday night?