"I like the guy"- Dhiego Lima explains why he was reluctant to accept a fight against his former TUF coach Matt Brown [Exclusive]

Dhiego Lima is set to return to the octagon at UFC Vegas 29. The Brazilian will fight veteran Matt Brown, who is coming off a loss to Carlos Condit.

In a recent interview with Sportskeeda's John Hyon Ko, Lima shed light on what he thinks of his upcoming opponent. He said:

"He (Matt Brown) just brought toughness. He's just a tough guy in everything he does and I knew as soon as I signed on that dotted line, I knew exactly what he would say: 'don't be scared, take it'."

Lima said he had to give it a second thought before accepting the fight opposite Brown simply because of his history with the American fighter. Lima represented Team Dillashaw at The Ultimate Fighter 25 and Brown was one of his coaches:

"I thought about it (the fight) and I was like 'man, I like the guy'. I have so much history but he would be the first one to say 'you better take it. I don't care, we'll fight'. He's that type of guy. He brings toughness. I know what he brings, I know how he is, he doesn't care what's going on with him. He's training and he's training hard," said Lima.

You can watch the full interview below:

Dhiego Lima on his training camp for UFC Vegas 29 fight

Dhiego Lima after defeating Court McGee

Dhiego Lima believes his training camp for UFC Vegas 29 was more constructive than his previous one. He last fought Belal Muhammad at UFC 258, which resulted in a convincing win for the No.12 ranked UFC welterweight.

Lima said he fought Muhammad after undergoing successful neck surgery. This time around, however, he claims to have regained his lost rhythm:

"This camp was completely different. Just having that rhythm in sparring, in everything, you know, and getting that confidence back too. I had neck surgery, I've never had any surgeries before, that was my first one and it's a freaking neck. You only got one neck," said Lima.

Dhiego Lima looks back on his loss to Belal Muhammad

UFC 258: Muhammad v Lima

Speaking to John Hyon Ko, Dhiego Lima also explained what went wrong in his previous fight against Belal Muhammad. He said ring rust was one of the major factors in his loss to 'Remember the Name' and also claimed that he was close to finishing Muhammad:

"That ring rust was real for me. I got hit, my takedown defense was on point. I liked that, so there were a lot of positives. It was a confidence booster for me. I needed that, especially a grinder fight like that. I was in that fight even though it looked like he dominated because he put so much pressure, but I was two leg kicks away from finishing that fight. I was in that fight," said Dhiego Lima.

#UFC258 Official Scorecard: Belal Muhammad (@BullyB170) vs Dhiego LimaView All Scorecards from UFC 258 ⬇️:

— UFC News (@UFCNews) February 14, 2021

Lima's UFC Vegas 29 outing will be his seventh fight in the promotion. The event is scheduled to take place on June 19, 2021, and will be headlined by Dan Ige and Chan Sung Jung.