Thales Leites draws inspiration from William Wallace

Thales Leites is a big William Wallace fan.

The Brazilian middleweight contender draws so much inspiration from the Scottish legend that he has one of Wallace's famous quotes tattooed on his ribs: "Every man dies. Not every man really lives."

Stepping into the Octagon against Englishman Michael Bisping on Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night 72, Leites will get a chance to violently ply his trade in front of Wallace's Scottish countrymen at the SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow.

"I'm really happy that this fight is in Scotland, a place that I always dreamed about visiting for being a huge fan of 'Braveheart,' movie that tells the story of William Wallace," Leites told MMAFighting.com's Guilherme Cruz. "I believe the crowd will be on his side, but it will be special for me to fight there, and I hope I have their support."

A one-time title contender, Leites flamed out of the UFC in 2009 after consecutive losses to Anderson Silva and Alessio Sakara. The 33-year-old grappling ace shored-up his game over the years in smaller promotions, adding knockout power to his arsenal before returning to the Octagon in 2013.

Since his return, a rejuvenated Leites has racked up five wins in a row in a middleweight division that's much more of a shark tank than the one he left almost a half-decade earlier.

"The division is way tougher now," Leites said. "There are some great names. (Chris) Weidman is the champion, but there are great guys getting closer already, like Luke Rockhold, 'Jacare' Souza, and Yoel Romero. In the top 15, I believe anyone can fight for the belt and win it one day. That’s great for the sport and for the division."