Skip to main content

Bellator 291 winner Norbert Novenyi Jr. impressed with champ Johnny Eblen, 'but I'm coming'

DUBLIN – Norbert Novenyi Jr. knows he still has work to do but warns Johnny Eblen that he’s coming for him.

Novenyi (6-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) made quick work of Andy Manzolo this past Saturday at Bellator 291 in Dublin by knocking him out in the first round. Despite still being young in his career, the 23-year-old unbeaten prospect is confident that he’ll rise to the challenge of someday competing against Eblen (13-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA).

“I can’t rush it. I know I’ve got so much to work on, and the division is full of killers,” Novenyi told MMA Junkie and other reporters following Bellator 291. “I mean, what Johnny Eblen did last fight was amazing. … I still feel like I have to get a couple of fights out of the way. I’m still 6-0 now, I’m still 23. I had a long time out. I want to get a couple of fights in, but I’m coming. I want all these middleweights to know while they’re doing their weights and pad sessions, I’m putting in work.”

He continued, “For me to outwork these guys, it’s easy. But my skills have to be better, my experience inside the cage has to be more, and I know that. I’m still young. I need to get stronger, blah, blah, blah. But I’m coming, and I want all these guys to know – and Johnny Eblen was here tonight. Hopefully he liked my performance. Again, he’s a couple of fights ahead of me still, but I’m coming.”

Eblen’s decorated wrestling background has given all his opposition problems, including his most recent title defense against Anatoly Tokov at Bellator 290. But Novenyi Jr. vows that his wrestling game is ever improving, and being the son of an Olympic gold medalist wrestler, he has the guidance to back it up too.

“I’ve been wrestling since I was 3, t-and-a-half,” Novenyi Jr. said. “I’ve got videos of me as a kid wrestling. I can wrestle. Since I was 14 I haven’t been wrestling as much, so maybe on that level, Johnny Eblen’s got that little ahead of me, but I know I can keep up with these wrestlers. I really rate him. He’s good everywhere, but the best skill he’s got is his work ethic and his cardio.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 291.



from MMA Junkie https://ift.tt/wIGcEet
via IFTTT

Labels

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Video: Oli Thompson lands devastating first-round knockout punch on Aleksei Oleinik in Russia

Aleksei Oleinik returned to action for the first time since his UFC exit, but things did not go in his favor. In the main event of REN TV Fight Club at Dynamo Volleyball Arena in Moscow, Russia, Oleinik (60-17-1 MMA) faced fellow UFC veteran Oli Thompson in a heavyweight bout. The result was a violent finish that left Oleinik staring up at the lights. Thompson (21-16 MMA) unleashed a crushing right hand that sent Oleinik crashing to the canvas with 35 seconds remaining in the opening round. Check out video of the finish below (via Twitter ): Oli Thompson destroys Alexey Oleynik with a massive right hand in the first round pic.twitter.com/AdWy25dQxR — caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) May 26, 2023 Thompson, 43, returned to the win column for the first time since 2020, snapping a four-fight losing skid. His last victory was also a first-round stoppage; a 23-second knockout of Szymon Bajor at Fight Exclusive Night 28 on June 13, 2020. Oleinik, 45, competed in his final UFC bout in Octo...
Read more

Henry Cejudo: 'I still don't see Sean O'Malley as the best in the world' ahead of UFC 299

Henry Cejudo is not sold on Sean O'Malley as UFC bantamweight champion. O’Malley (17-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) knocked out Aljamain Sterling to become 135-pound champion at UFC 292, whereas Cejudo is coming off a close title loss to Sterling at UFC 288 . O’Malley will make his first title defense against Marlon Vera in the UFC 299 headliner on March 9, and Cejudo is still adamant that “Chito” beats O’Malley again – despite being a sizable underdog. “I still don’t see Sean O’Malley as the best in the world,” Cejudo said on Daniel Cormier’s YouTube channel . “I don’t. I do believe ‘Chito’ Vera is going to beat him. You have good defense, you walk that dude down, you kick his freaking legs – he still has that wide leg – you kick his legs, you just bring the fight to him and grit. “This is what Sean O’Malley will do: He’ll look at the clock because he throws a lot of power. He is precise, but he throws a lot of it. I would bet the house on ‘Chito.’ Once I beat Merab (Dvalishvili), I’m goi...
Read more

Jim Miller had no problem accepting short-notice replacement Jared Gordon: 'Business as usual'

LAS VEGAS – With over 50 professional MMA fights, Jim Miller has been through it all, which has brought a level of comfort few have in this sport. That’s why when the UFC called with Jared Gordon as a replacement opponent for Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 45, Miller (35-17 MMA, 24-16 UFC) had no problem saying yes. At this point, there’s little the UFC lightweight veteran hasn’t seen, and he expects to be ready Saturday. “(It’s) business as usual,” Miller told reporters at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 45 news conference. “That’s three in a row that opponents drop out like two weeks or less for the event. And I think it’s a total of nine times in my career with the UFC, so more like 25 percent. But yeah, business as usual. “I train to be the best fighter that I can be every out. At this point I’ve fought everybody from the top lanky 6’4” lefties, to guys my height, and righties and grapplers. So I just appreciated when guys are willing to step up because there are a lot of fighters that say...
Read more