“Concrete” is confused.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight prospect Steven Asplund returns to action against Brazil’s Guilherme Pat on the UFC Vegas 120 “Prelims” this weekend (Sat., Aug. 8, 2026) inside Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Asplund is currently a sizable favorite over Pat, sitting at -298, while the Brazilian comeback is +240. To Asplund, those numbers are a little wild, and he has already told his fans not to pay attention to them.
“What the f—k are we talking about, dude?” Asplund told Full Send MMA. “I’m shocked. I’m 1-1 — I don’t know what they see, bro. This kid is 1-1, and he ain’t no f—king bitch. He’s coming from the favelas of Brazil to put on for his family. Come on, man, this is f—king MMA, and Heavyweight MMA at that. Anything can happen.”
Asplund understands the danger and is not overlooking Pat, either.
“Guilherme is dangerous; he frightens me,” Asplund added. “But with that being said, I don’t think he has the tools needed to finish me. If he does clip me, he must act quick because I’m in the best f—king shape I’ve been in in a long time.
“I’m ready to show up, I’m hungry,” Asplund continued. “I know I get a ton of love for my story, but God damn it, stories don’t win fights. I gotta win, so let’s f—king go show the world what I already know.”
Asplund is coming off his first UFC loss, falling to Vitor Petrino in what could have been his chance to jump into the Heavyweight rankings. The defeat clearly stung, and Asplund does not want to feel that way again.
Because of that, he invested in himself and built a home gym to get into the best shape of his career.
“This time I’ve invested in myself,” Asplund told UFC.com this week. “I bought a home gym — put a bunch of dumbbells in my garage, an Airdyne bike, a squat rack. I’ve been doing two-a-days, man. I never want to feel that way again. These losses are like death to me.”
“I made an agreement to myself that I will ask myself if I could have done more before a fight again,” Asplund concluded. “This fight, I know I couldn’t have; I’ve done everything I can.”
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