"My opponent will be surprised when the ‘kickboxer' can choke him out." - Dennis Siver

In a recent interview with Tapology, German kickboxer Dennis Siver (17-7) had some pretty strong words about his upcoming bout with George Sotiropoulos (14-2) at UFC 127 on February 26th. 

While Siver would undoubetedly be more comfortable if the fight remained standing, he seems confident if the bout were to hit the mats.

"My game plan is to fight him in stand up; this is where I feel dominant against a ground specialist, but of course if we end up on the mats, we will fight there as well," said Siver.

Siver enters the bout on a two fight winning streak, including a beautiful rear-naked choke over Andre Winner in his home country of Germany at UFC 122. Siver is 7-4 in his UFC career, with wins over Spencer Fisher and Paul Kelly. 

George Sotiropoulos, a black belt in Brazilian Jiu jitsu, comes into the fight with a perfect 7-0 record inside the UFC, with wins over Joe Lauzon, Kurt Pellegrino and Joe Stevenson. Many are considering this a mere warm-up fight for the Australian while the lightweight title picture gets worked out.

Should Sotriropoulos be afraid of Siver if the fight were to hit the ground? Does Siver have any chance of submitting the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Check out the full interview over at Tapology.

Make sure to check back with us the day of the event for free, live, round-by-round coverage of UFC 127right here at FiveKnuckles.com! Join expert analyst Mike Williams as he takes you through the entire fight card blow-by-blow and then keep it right here for all the post-fight news and notes you can handle!