Joe Giannetti believes Brant Moore is overconfident heading into LFA 89 main event

There’s no denying the novel coronavirus put the brakes on a lot of fighters’ plans for 2020. Among those who were looking to make things happen during this summer was lightweight Joe Giannetti, but it was not to be.

Coming off his third win in four fights this past January, Giannetti was looking to get back into the cage in April when MMA went into the lockdown with the rest of the world.

“I was kind of riding a high from a win at Cage Titans at the beginning of the year, and I kind of thought I was going to be super active and cranking out fights, then coronavirus hit,” Giannetti told MMAWeekly.com. “I was still training, taking it day by day, and then my (scheduled April) fight got cancelled.

“I heard about gyms shutting down, so from there I started to put together a set-up in my garage. I tried to stay training as much as I could, focusing on me, rehabbing little injuries, and then just focusing on things needing improved on. I’ve been training my hardest, waiting for an opportunity to fight.”

Giannetti was particularly eager to keep going following his Cage Titans win, where he managed to have one of his strongest performances and pick up a first round submission win over Roberto Young.

“Roberto Young had come around here before and he gave two of the top locals really good hard fights, and maybe it was because I had been able to watch those fights first, but I was able to capitalize on his biggest weakness, which is his grappling,” said Giannetti.

“His striking was phenomenal, and I thought I could beat him on the feet, but I knew the easiest way to get the win was to take him down and get the sub, and I did that pretty quick. I was super happy I was able to do that.”

This Friday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Giannetti (9-2-1) will look to pick up his third straight win when he faces Brant Moore (7-1) in the 155-pound main event of LFA 89.

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“Brant is really good,” Giannetti said. “Honestly he’s probably one of the best guys I’ve ever fought. I’m looking forward to it. From seeing his interviews, he’s a smart kid, he knows what he’s talking about. I think I heard him say a couple of times that our fight really is going to be a chess match.

“It’s going to be about who can implement their game plan the best. I think his biggest downfall is that he’s a little overconfident. I think he thinks he’s a little better than me everywhere, whereas I’m more realistic when I formulate my game plan.”

Having previously placed overall goals ahead of direct ones in the past, Giannetti is just focused on Friday’s fight. Whatever comes of it will be something he addresses after the fight is over.

“I used to that pressure on myself, but it’s not really worth it,” said Giannetti. “It doesn’t change the outcome of the fight. It doesn’t change the performance of the fight in a positive way. If anything it just stresses me out more.

“Now I just take it fight by fight and having fun with it. When I’m just focused on getting the win and stressed out about it, I’m not just flowing and letting everything go. Right now I’m just having fun with it and just trying to get the win.”