Patrick Cummins: Light heavyweight needs new blood and I'm happy to provide it

Following a loss to Ovince Saint-Preux earlier this year, Patrick Cummins knew that his next fight was going to truly determine his future in fighting and with the UFC.

No one wants back-to-back losses, but especially in the light heavyweight division where the top five fighters are all either champions, ex-champions or former title contenders and that's one boy's club that rarely gets invaded by any outsiders.

Cummins knew deep down that he could compete with those fighters, but the lost to Saint-Preux knocked the wind out of his sails a little bit. It's a big part of the reason why he was so anxious to fight again, but finishing Rafael 'Feijao' Cavalcante gave him all the confirmation Cummins needed to know he was really ready to tackle the top guys in the world at 205-pounds.

"That was a special one for me, but not just because it was my toughest test or I did my best against a really tough guy. I think it was more of everything coming together," Cummins told FOX Sports recently. "My crazy, emotional response after the fight, which really isn't my type of reaction, that kind of said it all. I needed something like that. I needed that to unlock the kind of fighter I can be. I think after that, we're going to see much better performances from me in the future."

As Cummins prepares to face No. 4 ranked light heavyweight Glover Teixeira this weekend in Brazil, he's not oblivious to the fact that this is his biggest step up in competition to date. He also knows that a win will not only propel him towards the top five, but give him a chance to finally inject a fresh face into a stable where seemingly the same few people have roamed for the past three years.  

"I think a lot of the reason why I got this matchup is because these guys have been fighting each other. They've already done it. I understand there's certain fights you want to recreate or give another go, but I think they need some new blood in there and I'm happy to provide it," Cummins said.

Following his win over Cavalcante in August, Cummins wasn't sure what kind of matchup he would land but admittedly Teixeira wasn't at the of his list. Not because he didn't want the fight but more than he didn't think the UFC would give it to him.

Teixeira was fresh off a win over Saint-Preux in August, but that came after a lopsided loss to Phil Davis in his previous bout where he got smothered by the wrestler for the better part of 15 minutes.

While he's not exactly the same kind of fighter, Cummins just happens to come from the same school as Davis and he knows if he wants to employ a similar tactic to put Teixeira on the mat and make him beg for air after three rounds are finished, he could do it.

"Originally I looked at this matchup and thought this was a possibility but I didn't think they were going to give me this opportunity just yet. So I was excited when it happened because our styles clash in a different way and it comes out a lot better for me. He's a dangerous guy, he hits hard, but at the same time I feel like I have a speed advantage, I have a little bit more of an athletic background and when I want to take it to the mat, that's what I'm going to do. I think he's going to have a hard time stopping that," Cummins said.

"(Phil Davis and I are) very different wrestlers, in that wrestling world they are varying styles and it's difficult to lump everybody into 'he's a wrestler' but Phil has that kind of smothering style, he's a leech, so that's definitely more of Phil's style. I think it would be a mistake to try and go out there and fight a fight like Phil would fight. But I see that, I've watched that fight, and it definitely gives me ideas that if things aren't going the way I want, I know I can do what is absolutely most comfortable for me, which is wrestling and I can do that."

Cummins proved in his last fight that he's capable of not only out wrestling an opponent, but also punishing them into submission. As great as first round knockouts might be, there's something about the physicality of simply overwhelming an opponent and breaking their spirit.

Actually, Cummins says that's the exact definition of a wrestler and something Teixeira should expect come Saturday night.  

"That's the way I approach every, single fight. That's what I bring to a fight is being able to push the pace and keeping that pressure really high in a way that people don't like to deal with. People don't like to fight wrestlers for that reason," Cummins said. "I want to push the pace and I really want to take the fight to him. I've seen all of his fights now and it seems like no one's really done that. That hasn't been the other guy's strategy to go out there and push the pace.

"I think that pressure and that grinding mentality, if I can do that, if I can keep that up for 15 minutes I don't really think anybody in the division can hang with that."