Stephanie Luciano not worried by hostile crowd ahead of UFC Belgrade fight: "You can curse at me"

Stephanie Luciano is not easily intimidated. When she steps into the Octagon this Saturday to face Marina Spasic at UFC Belgrade, "Rondinha" knows she will have the crowd against her. However, the Brazilian is not worried about facing a hostile atmosphere when going against a local fighter. After all, she's been through a similar situation before and assured that this environment doesn't affect her whatsoever.

Stephanie Luciano Not Concerned about Serbian Crowd

Despite the hostile atmosphere expected in Belgrade, Rondinha remains confident that the crowd will not affect her performance. Speaking to Ag Fight, the Brazilian explained why she believes she can remain focused on her opponent regardless of what happens outside the Octagon.

"It's great that the Serbian crowd is so passionate, but this is Brazil," Stephanie Luciano said. "You can't compare the Serbian crowd to the Brazilian crowd. [...] I don't really care that much about the crowd. I care about her in there, and my focus is on her. Whatever comes from outside won't make a difference."

The Brazilian even sees a humorous side to the situation, as she does not speak Serbian and therefore will not understand most of what the crowd says to her.

"It's a completely different language that I don't understand, so you can curse at me and I won't understand anything."

Luciano has already experienced what it is like to face a local fighter in front of a passionate crowd. The Brazilian recalled her Jungle Fight title fight in São Paulo, when she faced an opponent from the city and watched the crowd continue to support her even as she was losing.

"I was the champion of the biggest event in Latin America, Jungle Fight, in São Paulo, and the girl I fought was from there," Luciano said. "I heard everyone screaming for her and cheering her on. She was losing the fight and the crowd was still trying to push her forward, and really, that doesn't make a difference to me. Maybe it makes a difference to her, but honestly, I'm not that worried about the crowd."

Stephanie Luciano Focused on Spasic

In addition to not being concerned about the hostile atmosphere she will encounter, Rondinha also believes she has the tools to overcome Spasic inside the Octagon. Even though she will face a striker with six knockout and TKO wins out of her seven victories, the Brazilian is certain she knows the "path to victory."

"Marina is a striker. She comes from kickboxing and is a striking-based fighter, so she will definitely want to show that," Rondinha explained. "But this is MMA. I've already fought a five-time jiu-jitsu champion, and I've fought some very tough girls. I know the path to victory in MMA."

Ready to make her fourth UFC appearance, Luciano will have the chance to put her confidence to the test when she faces Spasic in front of her home crowd on Saturday. A victory would give the Brazilian her second consecutive UFC win and another step forward in the strawweight division.