Skip to main content

Sullivan Cauley wants top-10 opponents if victorious over Luke Trainer at Bellator 293

Sullivan Cauley thinks it’s time he faces the top names at Bellator if victorious in his return to the cage.

The unbeaten Bellator light heavyweight thinks he’s prime to be facing top-10 opposition, especially if he beats Luke Trainer at Bellator 293. The 205-pound matchup goes down in the opening bout of the Bellator 293 main card, which takes place Friday at Pechanga Resort Casino in Temecula, Calif. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie

“A win over Luke trainer means it’s time to start fighting guys in the top 10,” Cauley told reporters at the Bellator 293 media day on Wednesday. “If you talk to us when we first had the development contract, we were really trying to slow roll it before we jumped to tougher opponents, but when you knock everyone out early, it’s just hard to do that.

“They’ve been pushing me, and that’s good. Luke is a great opponent, and if I beat him, it’s clear that I’m ready for the top 10. It’s time to start fighting guys in the top 10.”

Cauley (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) has developed all of his fighting career under the Bellator banner. He debuted for the promotion in late 2020 and has since racked up five consecutive first-round finishes. The 36-year-old trains out of Power MMA gym in Arizona with Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader.

You can watch Cauley’s full interview in the video above.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 293.



from MMA Junkie https://ift.tt/JCf4YpT
via IFTTT
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Max Griffin offended by booking against Michael Morales: 'They're sending a guy that they think can beat me'

LAS VEGAS – Max Griffin is not exactly happy with his matchup against Michael Morales . The 37-year-old welterweight veteran is set to take on Michael Morales on the main card of Saturday’s UFC on ESPN 47 at the UFC Apex. This booking made Griffin (19-9 MMA, 7-7 UFC) feel like he’s been set up to be a stepping stone for Morales (14-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC), who’s unbeaten and just 24 years old – and that has Griffin fuming. “I have a thing for these new guys: I get offended,” Griffin told reporters at Wednesday’s UFC on ESPN 47 media day. “So it’s another guy, 14-0, fought Trevin Giles. That was a terrible fight from Trevin Giles. He beat him in the beginning but burned his arms out, getting sloppy, and got knocked out. … He (Morales) ain’t fought nobody. It’s not even about who y’all fought, but I am me. I am him. I’m not the guy you want to fight when you’re that raw, that new.” Although there’s something to be said about Morales’s promise and rise, Griffin is not getting caught in a ba...
Read more

Bellator 290 post-event facts: Ryan Bader keeps perfect rematch record

The first Bellator event of 2023, Bellator 290 , went down Saturday at Kia Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and it marked a monumental occasion for both the promotion and the sport. In addition to being the organization’s debut showcase on CBS, the card marked the retirement fight of legendary former PRIDE champion Fedor Emelianenko (40-7 MMA, 4-3 BMMA), who suffered a first-round TKO loss to heavyweight titleholder Ryan Bader (31-7 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) in their main event rematch. The co-headliner saw middleweight champion Johnny Eblen (13-0 MMA, 9-0 BMMA) remain undefeated with a unanimous decision win over Anatoly Tokov (31-3 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) for his first title defense. For more on the numbers behind the title bouts, as well as the rest of the card, check below for MMA Junkie’s post-event facts from Bellator 290. from MMA Junkie https://ift.tt/9YPBuqA via IFTTT
Read more

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