Bellator 151: Caldwell vs Warren Live Discussion - 3/4/16
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Alright thanks for the info and for your time! I feel like I could pick your brain for hours about bellator but I dont want to drive you up the wall haha.
Bellator 151: In depth with Bubba Jenkins
3/3/2016
Comments
Dave Willford
On Friday, Bubba Jenkins (10-2) will fight Goiti Yamauchi (19-2) in a featherweight bout at Bellator 151. Both are coming off multiple wins and hope to move closer to a title shot.
The 28 year old Jenkins has been a pro MMA fighter for a bit over four years. Prior to that, he was a collegiate wrestler, earning All-American status twice, and winning the 2011 NCAA national championship in the 157 pound division. He has several nicknames, including “The Highlight Kid” and “The Unicorn Slayer.” Before getting into questions about his MMA career and the upcoming fight against Yamauchi, I had to ask where that Unicorn Slayer name originated. It turns out to be a throwback to his college wrestling days. Bubba explained, “That’s not one I created, that’s just what a lot of people called me. I believe they called me that because I often beat a lot of the guys who people deemed to be unbeatable in my college career. Guys who were majestic, magical, unbeaten, untouchable guys. Usually I’d be the one to catch them and slay them. So they started calling me the Unicorn Slayer. I believe it developed after I won a national championship beating an undefeated wrestler in the finals. People have sent me memes and all kinds of jokes about having unicorn meat, and unicorn this, and unicorn that, and having shirts that have ‘The Unicorn Slayer’ on them, so I think it’s pretty cool.”
With that burning question out of the way, the conversation moved on to how he made the transition from collegiate amateur wrestling into a professional MMA career. “I could have gone into wrestling for the United States: Olympic aspirations and stuff like that. But one, I wanted to make money, and two, I wanted to be entertaining. Entertainment is frowned upon in the sport of wrestling. So I kind of wanted to stay away from being booed after I won a match because I celebrated. That's the type of thing that they don't really like in the sport of wrestling, and that was something that I could not help myself but do because of my personality and my outgoing characteristics. I wanted to compete, I wanted to make money, I wanted to be entertaining, but I wanted to continue to be combative, and MMA was absolutely the perfect avenue for me. That worked out. I'm happy I made that decision.”
Coming right from being a national champion wrestler and diving into the MMA world came with lots of expectations and pressure. He won and finished his first four fights, but in those early days, he did feel the pressure of what people expected from him, “It affected me because I fought so emotionally. You know, when people are expecting so much greatness out of me, I kind of got into the fight and wanted to dominate so heavily, and wanted to crush, and wanted to smash and be so strong so quickly. It really kind of just put the pressure in my head of 'You've got to win! You've got to win dominantly, and you've got to do this and you've got to do that...’ So I would say it rushed me, it hurried me in my fights. But as I've become more knowledgeable in the sport of MMA, I realized that I can't fight that way. I've got to fight off of what's going on in the moment, instead of what all these people are expecting of me.”
While gaining that experience, he worked to transition from a pure wrestler into a more complete mixed martial artist. He’s particularly pleased with how his striking has progressed, saying, “My striking is coming along. Obviously, with me being a wrestler, it is my biggest discipline, but my striking is developing. I’m getting more comfortable with seeing punches and dealing with punches, and being able to reply to the things that people are throwing my way. So, I’m just becoming more comfortable and I’m excited about where I'll be in the next five or six months with my striking. I have heavy hands, and I'm starting to be able to use my speed and my reach to use these hands. I'm excited about it. It's coming. It's jumped leaps and bounds since my first fight in Bellator.”
That and other aspects of his overall MMA game leave him confident in his ability to win the coming fight against Yamauchi, who has won fourteen of his nineteen victories by submission. “I'm pretty comfortable right now everywhere I go,” says Jenkins, “so if I take him down, I'm pretty confident that his submissions won't be as difficult as they seem to be on his record. I think I can hit him hard enough to get out of that position and get out of those submissions, and win the fight. But I wouldn't mind standing up striking with him. I believe that I can strike with him and trade with him, and win that battle as well. I'm excited about the fight. It's not that I'm not fearful of the things that he brings, but they don't concern me to the point that I'd stay away from fighting my type of fight.”
Bubba Jenkins earns the victory over Jordan Parsons at Bellator 146 (Photo Credit: Bellator MMA)
Bubba’s last win came on a split decision, so I was curious if that put additional pressure on him to win this fight more decisively. He answered, “Yes and no, because I thought I won pretty decisively last time. I’m going to say yes, because I want to finish this guy. I definitely don’t want to go to a split decision, or anything like that. I always strive to achieve greatness in fights. You know, you don’t get paid for overtime. So in my fifteen minutes of fighting this person, I want to get out of there sooner than later. That’s what I look to do, and hopefully this fight I can get him out of there before the third round.”
That might be difficult, since Yamauchi represents a step up in competition for Jenkins, who agrees that “He's the best fighter that I've ever fought.” He realizes that a win here helps move him closer to a championship belt, “Right now, man, I’m sorry to be so cliche, but right now my main focus is on Goiti Yamauchi. I know that if I beat him, I’ll be able to call my shots and I’ll be able to go up with name fighters. I’m just focused on trying to beat him up, and get the job done with him, and then I can start calling out the rest of the guys. I know that Gioti is one of the top five fighters at featherweight in Bellator.”
As a young, up and coming fighter, The Highlight Kid is constantly working to improve his skills. “Without having a fight, we do our regular practice, whether it's wrestling, or jiu jitsu, or sparring and grappling and all those things. Sometimes I'll come in at night and get a nice little run in, or I'll hit the mitts, you know, focus on the things I need to do to mature as a fighter.” Once he’s got an opponent, then the specific training for that fight begins, “But in camp, man, you're focusing strictly on what your opponent brings to the table, how you can capitalize on his weaknesses, the things that you are weak about, the things your opponent is analyzing. You try to make those situations stronger and you try to become a different fighter every fight by becoming more progressive in mixed martial arts. That's the camp. You train more often. I run more often, I'm a little bit more focused and my dieting is different, and everything is for the purpose of the night of the fight, and weigh-ins. It's different from when you're just kind of training to better yourself.”
The mental preparation is as important as the physical, Bubba stresses, “Absolutely. The fact I'm a national champion definitely helps, but my mentality is far different than anyone else in the 145 pound weight class of any organization. Between the ears, I'm the strongest. Between the ears, I am completely homed in to who I am and who I want to become. I have goals, and I reach them often. So I know that between the ears is where I win a lot of my fights. ‘What a man thinketh in his heart, he then becomes.’ I know that I think these things in my mind, and they become real actual parts of my DNA in my heart, and that's how I become successful, and that's how I achieve. It's purely mental for me. Because I have all the physical attributes, I try to make sure that I'm the strongest mind.”
A part of this is learning from defeats. Bubba has only had two losses so far, but they have brought some lessons. He feels that they have taught him “To be more experienced, to be more knowledgeable. To have more wisdom in what I'm doing. To be prepared. Really, I lost those two fights because I didn't stick to the game plan and I wasn't prepared to achieve those game plans. So those loses taught me that you've got to prepare, you've got to live as a professional. If you're in professional fighting, you can't have amateur characteristics. You have to come in and be ready, and be developed, and know what you're doing. And you've got to stick to a game plan. If the coach sets out a game plan for you, you have to stick to that. You can't fight on emotion, you can't fight on 'Oh, he did this to me', You've got to be calm, collected and smart.”
As a part of his overall fighting career, and as a way to help other fighters, Bubba Jenkins helped found TipAFighter, a website where fans can pass a few dollars on to their favorite fighters as a tip for an especially good performance. “TipAFighter is doing great, man! The concept of TipAFighter is basically to create another revenue stream for fighters that are out there. There are so many fighters that are having to work odd jobs and having to do second and third jobs to make ends meet, and TipAFighter is another way that the fan can connect with their favorite fighters and that the promotion can get exciting fighters. The promotion is getting exciting fighters because the fighter is trying to knock somebody out or do something spectacular, because he knows if he can do that, the fans will tip him.”
“It's great. A lot of these fans go to the fights and they tip the driver to the fights, they tip the bartender at the fights, but the fighters are in the cage and they're not getting gratitude from the fans. There are so many fans that are making tons of money off the betting websites, I see people betting on me all the time, or betting against me all the time. There's gratitude that can be shown through our business at TipAFighter where if you win a couple thousand dollars, if you win this or you win that, then you can say 'Hey, man, I appreciate you for helping me win, and here's a certain amount or percentage of my winnings' sort of thing. So it's really a great avenue to help the fighters create another revenue stream. If they want to do interviews and podcasts, and put them on their profiles at TipAFighter. If they want to have their sponsorships be on their profile at TipAFighter, then that's another way that the sponsorship can get eyes, and another way that they can market themselves and say 'Hey, I'm doing all these other things.' And people can go there and show their love and support. It's a good way for the fans to connect with their favorite fighters. So it's just another avenue that makes the MMA community much closer to each other, and have the fans reach out and touch the fighters that they really, truly appreciate.” You can check out the website here: http://tipafighter.com/
Moving into Friday’s fight and beyond, Jenkins just wants to keep improving and stay active, “I'd like to fight more, man. The more experience I get in that cage, the better and quicker I'll become. I learn on the fly. I'm really smart as far as being able to adapt to every situation. Bellator has done a great job, with this becoming my tenth fight. I'd like to fight every two-and-a-half or three months, just to stay into the game, stay into the camp, you know, being ready for my fights. The more fighting for me, the better. Once I become great, I'll start to be looking to become legendary, and once that happens, no one will touch me.” All of which will help him achieve his short-term and long-term goals, which Bubba sets out as, “My goal for this year is to become the champion. My goal for the long term is to become a historical legend.”
3/3/2016
Comments
Dave Willford
On Friday, Bubba Jenkins (10-2) will fight Goiti Yamauchi (19-2) in a featherweight bout at Bellator 151. Both are coming off multiple wins and hope to move closer to a title shot.
The 28 year old Jenkins has been a pro MMA fighter for a bit over four years. Prior to that, he was a collegiate wrestler, earning All-American status twice, and winning the 2011 NCAA national championship in the 157 pound division. He has several nicknames, including “The Highlight Kid” and “The Unicorn Slayer.” Before getting into questions about his MMA career and the upcoming fight against Yamauchi, I had to ask where that Unicorn Slayer name originated. It turns out to be a throwback to his college wrestling days. Bubba explained, “That’s not one I created, that’s just what a lot of people called me. I believe they called me that because I often beat a lot of the guys who people deemed to be unbeatable in my college career. Guys who were majestic, magical, unbeaten, untouchable guys. Usually I’d be the one to catch them and slay them. So they started calling me the Unicorn Slayer. I believe it developed after I won a national championship beating an undefeated wrestler in the finals. People have sent me memes and all kinds of jokes about having unicorn meat, and unicorn this, and unicorn that, and having shirts that have ‘The Unicorn Slayer’ on them, so I think it’s pretty cool.”
With that burning question out of the way, the conversation moved on to how he made the transition from collegiate amateur wrestling into a professional MMA career. “I could have gone into wrestling for the United States: Olympic aspirations and stuff like that. But one, I wanted to make money, and two, I wanted to be entertaining. Entertainment is frowned upon in the sport of wrestling. So I kind of wanted to stay away from being booed after I won a match because I celebrated. That's the type of thing that they don't really like in the sport of wrestling, and that was something that I could not help myself but do because of my personality and my outgoing characteristics. I wanted to compete, I wanted to make money, I wanted to be entertaining, but I wanted to continue to be combative, and MMA was absolutely the perfect avenue for me. That worked out. I'm happy I made that decision.”
Coming right from being a national champion wrestler and diving into the MMA world came with lots of expectations and pressure. He won and finished his first four fights, but in those early days, he did feel the pressure of what people expected from him, “It affected me because I fought so emotionally. You know, when people are expecting so much greatness out of me, I kind of got into the fight and wanted to dominate so heavily, and wanted to crush, and wanted to smash and be so strong so quickly. It really kind of just put the pressure in my head of 'You've got to win! You've got to win dominantly, and you've got to do this and you've got to do that...’ So I would say it rushed me, it hurried me in my fights. But as I've become more knowledgeable in the sport of MMA, I realized that I can't fight that way. I've got to fight off of what's going on in the moment, instead of what all these people are expecting of me.”
While gaining that experience, he worked to transition from a pure wrestler into a more complete mixed martial artist. He’s particularly pleased with how his striking has progressed, saying, “My striking is coming along. Obviously, with me being a wrestler, it is my biggest discipline, but my striking is developing. I’m getting more comfortable with seeing punches and dealing with punches, and being able to reply to the things that people are throwing my way. So, I’m just becoming more comfortable and I’m excited about where I'll be in the next five or six months with my striking. I have heavy hands, and I'm starting to be able to use my speed and my reach to use these hands. I'm excited about it. It's coming. It's jumped leaps and bounds since my first fight in Bellator.”
That and other aspects of his overall MMA game leave him confident in his ability to win the coming fight against Yamauchi, who has won fourteen of his nineteen victories by submission. “I'm pretty comfortable right now everywhere I go,” says Jenkins, “so if I take him down, I'm pretty confident that his submissions won't be as difficult as they seem to be on his record. I think I can hit him hard enough to get out of that position and get out of those submissions, and win the fight. But I wouldn't mind standing up striking with him. I believe that I can strike with him and trade with him, and win that battle as well. I'm excited about the fight. It's not that I'm not fearful of the things that he brings, but they don't concern me to the point that I'd stay away from fighting my type of fight.”
Bubba Jenkins earns the victory over Jordan Parsons at Bellator 146 (Photo Credit: Bellator MMA)
Bubba’s last win came on a split decision, so I was curious if that put additional pressure on him to win this fight more decisively. He answered, “Yes and no, because I thought I won pretty decisively last time. I’m going to say yes, because I want to finish this guy. I definitely don’t want to go to a split decision, or anything like that. I always strive to achieve greatness in fights. You know, you don’t get paid for overtime. So in my fifteen minutes of fighting this person, I want to get out of there sooner than later. That’s what I look to do, and hopefully this fight I can get him out of there before the third round.”
That might be difficult, since Yamauchi represents a step up in competition for Jenkins, who agrees that “He's the best fighter that I've ever fought.” He realizes that a win here helps move him closer to a championship belt, “Right now, man, I’m sorry to be so cliche, but right now my main focus is on Goiti Yamauchi. I know that if I beat him, I’ll be able to call my shots and I’ll be able to go up with name fighters. I’m just focused on trying to beat him up, and get the job done with him, and then I can start calling out the rest of the guys. I know that Gioti is one of the top five fighters at featherweight in Bellator.”
As a young, up and coming fighter, The Highlight Kid is constantly working to improve his skills. “Without having a fight, we do our regular practice, whether it's wrestling, or jiu jitsu, or sparring and grappling and all those things. Sometimes I'll come in at night and get a nice little run in, or I'll hit the mitts, you know, focus on the things I need to do to mature as a fighter.” Once he’s got an opponent, then the specific training for that fight begins, “But in camp, man, you're focusing strictly on what your opponent brings to the table, how you can capitalize on his weaknesses, the things that you are weak about, the things your opponent is analyzing. You try to make those situations stronger and you try to become a different fighter every fight by becoming more progressive in mixed martial arts. That's the camp. You train more often. I run more often, I'm a little bit more focused and my dieting is different, and everything is for the purpose of the night of the fight, and weigh-ins. It's different from when you're just kind of training to better yourself.”
The mental preparation is as important as the physical, Bubba stresses, “Absolutely. The fact I'm a national champion definitely helps, but my mentality is far different than anyone else in the 145 pound weight class of any organization. Between the ears, I'm the strongest. Between the ears, I am completely homed in to who I am and who I want to become. I have goals, and I reach them often. So I know that between the ears is where I win a lot of my fights. ‘What a man thinketh in his heart, he then becomes.’ I know that I think these things in my mind, and they become real actual parts of my DNA in my heart, and that's how I become successful, and that's how I achieve. It's purely mental for me. Because I have all the physical attributes, I try to make sure that I'm the strongest mind.”
A part of this is learning from defeats. Bubba has only had two losses so far, but they have brought some lessons. He feels that they have taught him “To be more experienced, to be more knowledgeable. To have more wisdom in what I'm doing. To be prepared. Really, I lost those two fights because I didn't stick to the game plan and I wasn't prepared to achieve those game plans. So those loses taught me that you've got to prepare, you've got to live as a professional. If you're in professional fighting, you can't have amateur characteristics. You have to come in and be ready, and be developed, and know what you're doing. And you've got to stick to a game plan. If the coach sets out a game plan for you, you have to stick to that. You can't fight on emotion, you can't fight on 'Oh, he did this to me', You've got to be calm, collected and smart.”
As a part of his overall fighting career, and as a way to help other fighters, Bubba Jenkins helped found TipAFighter, a website where fans can pass a few dollars on to their favorite fighters as a tip for an especially good performance. “TipAFighter is doing great, man! The concept of TipAFighter is basically to create another revenue stream for fighters that are out there. There are so many fighters that are having to work odd jobs and having to do second and third jobs to make ends meet, and TipAFighter is another way that the fan can connect with their favorite fighters and that the promotion can get exciting fighters. The promotion is getting exciting fighters because the fighter is trying to knock somebody out or do something spectacular, because he knows if he can do that, the fans will tip him.”
“It's great. A lot of these fans go to the fights and they tip the driver to the fights, they tip the bartender at the fights, but the fighters are in the cage and they're not getting gratitude from the fans. There are so many fans that are making tons of money off the betting websites, I see people betting on me all the time, or betting against me all the time. There's gratitude that can be shown through our business at TipAFighter where if you win a couple thousand dollars, if you win this or you win that, then you can say 'Hey, man, I appreciate you for helping me win, and here's a certain amount or percentage of my winnings' sort of thing. So it's really a great avenue to help the fighters create another revenue stream. If they want to do interviews and podcasts, and put them on their profiles at TipAFighter. If they want to have their sponsorships be on their profile at TipAFighter, then that's another way that the sponsorship can get eyes, and another way that they can market themselves and say 'Hey, I'm doing all these other things.' And people can go there and show their love and support. It's a good way for the fans to connect with their favorite fighters. So it's just another avenue that makes the MMA community much closer to each other, and have the fans reach out and touch the fighters that they really, truly appreciate.” You can check out the website here: http://tipafighter.com/
Moving into Friday’s fight and beyond, Jenkins just wants to keep improving and stay active, “I'd like to fight more, man. The more experience I get in that cage, the better and quicker I'll become. I learn on the fly. I'm really smart as far as being able to adapt to every situation. Bellator has done a great job, with this becoming my tenth fight. I'd like to fight every two-and-a-half or three months, just to stay into the game, stay into the camp, you know, being ready for my fights. The more fighting for me, the better. Once I become great, I'll start to be looking to become legendary, and once that happens, no one will touch me.” All of which will help him achieve his short-term and long-term goals, which Bubba sets out as, “My goal for this year is to become the champion. My goal for the long term is to become a historical legend.”
Joe Warren always looks like he's downwind of a ripe fart.
Little update on Sirwan ahead of Friday
Bellator 151: Sirwan Kakai Looks Forward To A New Beginning In Bellator & For Sweden
3/3/2016
Comments
Alex Giardini
It's difficult to leave the biggest mixed martial arts organization in the world, especially when you've competed inside the UFC octagon and on the big show. For Sirwan Kakai (12-3), though, it's not all about glitz and glamour – especially when his fighting career hit a road block because of reasons beyond his control.
This upcoming Friday, the 26-year-old Kakai commences a new journey under the Bellator banner after a two-fight stint in the UFC, where he went 1-1 and took both fights on short notice. “Zohan” will square off against Joe Taimanglo (21-6-1) in a bantamweight scrap set to open Bellator 151's main card at Winstar World Casino & Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma. This will be the first fight of Sirwan's newly signed four-fight deal with Viacom-owned promotion.
“I feel like this is almost like a new beginning,” Sirwan told MMABro. “I need to prove myself that I belong here and I'm here for the title, nothing else. I like the pressure of it, definitely.”
After winning his first UFC fight against Danny Martinez at UFC Fight Night 70, Kakai fell short against Frankie Saenz, who edged the Swede by split decision at UFC Fight Night 73. It then became a waiting game for Kakai's next fight, as the UFC had to take measures into their own hands by trying to trim a bloated roster due to international expansion.
“The UFC told me sit on the bench, and we will sign you if someone drops out, but I've already proved myself,” said Sirwan. “Why sit on the bench when I could go to Bellator, make good money and have a career there? It wasn't that hard for me, the door was open and they gave me a chance. I cannot refuse that or say no. Bellator is a great show, great organization that's coming up. Things are just getting bigger and bigger, and I want to be a part of that.”
When it comes to the Saenz fight, Kakai felt as if he should have been given the nod from the judges, and had he won, something bigger could have been waiting for him down the road.
Embed from Getty Images
“I understand if I lost two and got dominated, and got shown that you know what, maybe this guy doesn't belong in the UFC,” Kakai said. “That was not the case. After Saenz fights me, he fights the guy who is a title contender (Urijah Faber), and had a very competitive fight with him. Me and Saenz, it could have gone either way. He thought that he had won it and I thought that I had won it. I mean he was punching the air and I was punching his face. He had a higher output than me, but I had a higher percentage of strikes landed. It is what it is, but I don't see the reason. They didn't blame it on my performance, they said they have too many fighters. It's business, you go this way and I go that way.”
Considering Kakai wasn't going to let others dictate the future of his career, he embraced a move to Bellator, where he is eager to climb the ranks and show the world what he's made of.
The young bantamweight fighter, who hails from Gothenburg, Sweden, fell in love with the sport when he started training at a young age. Shortly after, he became obsessed with watching MMA, inspired by two legendary sluggers who just so happen to be roster mates of Kakai after Scott Coker made those signings possible.
“When I started to train, I started watching fights,” said Kakai. “I remember watching Pride, when Wanderlei (Silva) fought and when Rampage (Jackson) fought, I was like I want to fight in Japan in front of 90,000 people. I just loved it, I was such a big fan of the sport. I remember I watched every single MMA show that was coming out ... I wanted to do that. I wanted to be on the big stage.”
While Kakai eventually earned an opportunity to fight in Japan for Pancrase in 2013, he didn't exactly know how to make the right changes to his diet, which didn't help his cause. Still, he would love nothing more than an opportunity to fight in Japan again, even if nothing beats fighting at home in front of family, friends, and fans.
“Of course I love fighting at home,” Kakai admitted. “Every advantage that I could get. But I must say Japan was horrible to fight in, because I didn't know what to eat, it was horrible. But I love Japan and I want to go back there again.”
As for Sweden, there are dozens of fighters who are making noise in the world of mixed martial arts, including former UFC title contender Alexander Gustafsson. While Kakai believes there is great talent in the country, they haven't exactly taken the necessary steps to improve their game, much like Kakai did almost five years ago when he moved to America to train with American Top Team.
“I think there's great talent there,” Kakai said. “I see a lot of potential, but these fighters need to wake up. They think everything's going to come easy, and they want the good life and they want to do MMA. If you want to do MMA, you need to put yourself in an uncomfortable position. You need to take a step and really try to reach your dream, and do whatever it takes. I see so much talent, but they don't fight enough, and they don't come to America – they don't evolve. Nothing's happening, and right now, I think Swedish MMA isn't going anywhere. There's a lot of talent on the big shows, but I don't know if these guys are willing to do what it takes. I have a lot of friends and I tell them you need to wake up and do this, but they don't do it.”
When it comes to Kakai's ambitions, though, it's a relatively simple goal – to grow while being the best.
“I think in two years from now, maybe a year and a half, I will be the Bellator bantamweight champion. I won't just make great money, but I'll grow with the organization and the sport.”
Bellator 151: Sirwan Kakai Looks Forward To A New Beginning In Bellator & For Sweden
3/3/2016
Comments
Alex Giardini
It's difficult to leave the biggest mixed martial arts organization in the world, especially when you've competed inside the UFC octagon and on the big show. For Sirwan Kakai (12-3), though, it's not all about glitz and glamour – especially when his fighting career hit a road block because of reasons beyond his control.
This upcoming Friday, the 26-year-old Kakai commences a new journey under the Bellator banner after a two-fight stint in the UFC, where he went 1-1 and took both fights on short notice. “Zohan” will square off against Joe Taimanglo (21-6-1) in a bantamweight scrap set to open Bellator 151's main card at Winstar World Casino & Resort in Thackerville, Oklahoma. This will be the first fight of Sirwan's newly signed four-fight deal with Viacom-owned promotion.
“I feel like this is almost like a new beginning,” Sirwan told MMABro. “I need to prove myself that I belong here and I'm here for the title, nothing else. I like the pressure of it, definitely.”
After winning his first UFC fight against Danny Martinez at UFC Fight Night 70, Kakai fell short against Frankie Saenz, who edged the Swede by split decision at UFC Fight Night 73. It then became a waiting game for Kakai's next fight, as the UFC had to take measures into their own hands by trying to trim a bloated roster due to international expansion.
“The UFC told me sit on the bench, and we will sign you if someone drops out, but I've already proved myself,” said Sirwan. “Why sit on the bench when I could go to Bellator, make good money and have a career there? It wasn't that hard for me, the door was open and they gave me a chance. I cannot refuse that or say no. Bellator is a great show, great organization that's coming up. Things are just getting bigger and bigger, and I want to be a part of that.”
When it comes to the Saenz fight, Kakai felt as if he should have been given the nod from the judges, and had he won, something bigger could have been waiting for him down the road.
Embed from Getty Images
“I understand if I lost two and got dominated, and got shown that you know what, maybe this guy doesn't belong in the UFC,” Kakai said. “That was not the case. After Saenz fights me, he fights the guy who is a title contender (Urijah Faber), and had a very competitive fight with him. Me and Saenz, it could have gone either way. He thought that he had won it and I thought that I had won it. I mean he was punching the air and I was punching his face. He had a higher output than me, but I had a higher percentage of strikes landed. It is what it is, but I don't see the reason. They didn't blame it on my performance, they said they have too many fighters. It's business, you go this way and I go that way.”
Considering Kakai wasn't going to let others dictate the future of his career, he embraced a move to Bellator, where he is eager to climb the ranks and show the world what he's made of.
The young bantamweight fighter, who hails from Gothenburg, Sweden, fell in love with the sport when he started training at a young age. Shortly after, he became obsessed with watching MMA, inspired by two legendary sluggers who just so happen to be roster mates of Kakai after Scott Coker made those signings possible.
“When I started to train, I started watching fights,” said Kakai. “I remember watching Pride, when Wanderlei (Silva) fought and when Rampage (Jackson) fought, I was like I want to fight in Japan in front of 90,000 people. I just loved it, I was such a big fan of the sport. I remember I watched every single MMA show that was coming out ... I wanted to do that. I wanted to be on the big stage.”
While Kakai eventually earned an opportunity to fight in Japan for Pancrase in 2013, he didn't exactly know how to make the right changes to his diet, which didn't help his cause. Still, he would love nothing more than an opportunity to fight in Japan again, even if nothing beats fighting at home in front of family, friends, and fans.
“Of course I love fighting at home,” Kakai admitted. “Every advantage that I could get. But I must say Japan was horrible to fight in, because I didn't know what to eat, it was horrible. But I love Japan and I want to go back there again.”
As for Sweden, there are dozens of fighters who are making noise in the world of mixed martial arts, including former UFC title contender Alexander Gustafsson. While Kakai believes there is great talent in the country, they haven't exactly taken the necessary steps to improve their game, much like Kakai did almost five years ago when he moved to America to train with American Top Team.
“I think there's great talent there,” Kakai said. “I see a lot of potential, but these fighters need to wake up. They think everything's going to come easy, and they want the good life and they want to do MMA. If you want to do MMA, you need to put yourself in an uncomfortable position. You need to take a step and really try to reach your dream, and do whatever it takes. I see so much talent, but they don't fight enough, and they don't come to America – they don't evolve. Nothing's happening, and right now, I think Swedish MMA isn't going anywhere. There's a lot of talent on the big shows, but I don't know if these guys are willing to do what it takes. I have a lot of friends and I tell them you need to wake up and do this, but they don't do it.”
When it comes to Kakai's ambitions, though, it's a relatively simple goal – to grow while being the best.
“I think in two years from now, maybe a year and a half, I will be the Bellator bantamweight champion. I won't just make great money, but I'll grow with the organization and the sport.”
No worries! That's why I come here. Unfortunately some stuff I either can't say or is above my pay grade, lol
Okay, I got to ask. I heard MVP pulled out due to an undisclosed injury, will he be back soon & against a high caliber opponent like Gonzalez? Kind of tired of him beating cans. And was bummed when I heard he pulled out because I thought if he could beat Gonzalez like he was beating everyone else that he would be the real deal.
We want him back in there as soon as possible against someone capable of testing him.
That's good to hear! Cant wait, hopefully its very soon, was really bummed when I heard he had to pull out of his fight with Gonzalez. I knew that was going to be a tough fight and good challenge for MVP.
Media blackout out from here on out from me- in the arena now and I get no service in here (thanks Spint).
I'll post in here later when it's all over. Hope the fights are great!! BELLATOR MMA!! I have the most appropriate boner right now
I'll post in here later when it's all over. Hope the fights are great!! BELLATOR MMA!! I have the most appropriate boner right now
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Fack! I can't dig out on my girls right now. Thanks
@warriorx559 for the gifs.
@TheEmperorRises I'm super jelly. War
@CutmanMatt!
@Wild I bet she kicks your butt.
@warriorx559 for the gifs.
@TheEmperorRises I'm super jelly. War
@CutmanMatt!
@Wild I bet she kicks your butt.
Just waiting for her to finish this pot pie. She's milking that shit because she knows what's about to happen here.Fack! I can't dig out on my girls right now. Thanks
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