You could say the cut to get to 135 pounds is a tough one for Bellator bantamweight Mike Richman. You could also say it’s worth it. He’s made an impressive entrance into the division, with two emphatic first-round stoppages over Ed West and Nam Phan.
In a short time he’s made a dent in the weight class and faces former champion Eduardo Dantas in the co-main event of Bellator 137 Friday night on Spike. The bout should produce a No. 1 contender for new champion Marcos Galvao.
The former Marine makes the grueling cut to 135 pounds because he’s on a quest to become a champion. To Richman, being one of the best fighters in the world will be proof that all of the hard work was worthwhile.
Richman fights for a lot of reasons, and being the best is certainly one of them. He also fights for a living. He could have waited on the sidelines for Galvao to be ready to defend the title, but like most MMA fighters, Richman has to stay busy in order to make ends meet.
“Bellator offered me the title shot after I beat Nam Phan,” Richman told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview. “Once I realized that Galvao was going to fight (Joe) Warren first in late March, that means the winner probably won’t defend their title until late summer, maybe even September. That’s just too long of a layoff for me. I wouldn’t be able to afford it. I would have to work another job or whatever in between fights or something. I didn’t want that long of a layoff so I said to put me into a fight before then.
“I got bills to pay, man,” he said. “Some of these other dudes that wait forever, they must be making money where they can wait. I can’t wait that long. I got bills, I got kids. If I was a single man, living with a roommate or other fighters, I could have waited it out, but I’ve got more than that.”
Richman isn’t taking an easy fight by any means. Dantas is a product of Nova Uniao and holds a knockout win over the Bellator’s current bantamweight champion. Richman wants to face the toughest competition he can get his hands on, and right now that is Dantas.
He knows he’s facing a well-rounded opponent, and he is prepared for wherever the fight goes, saying, “Dantas is good everywhere, so I’m just training my game everywhere.”
Richman doesn’t get nervous in the days leading up to his fights. It’s not until those final moments on fight night that he starts to feel the butterflies.
“I don’t feel nerves until maybe a fight before mine, I’ll get a little bit of nerves going. But during fight week, I don’t have nerves or anything. All I can think about is what I’m going to eat and drink after weigh-ins. That’s seriously all I can think about. But I don’t feel nerves until a fight or two before mine.”
Even in those moments right before his fight, he still doesn’t feel the same type of nerves that some fighters may. Whereas some fighters describe their work in the cage as “going to war,” Richman understands the true meaning of the term, saying, “I was an infantryman in the Marine Corps, and being deployed three times, the situations I was in were life-and-death situations. Those type of chemicals aren’t going off in your brain when you’re going out to fight.”
What does go through Richman’s mind when he goes out to fight is living up to his potential. Even more than victory, Richman values going out there and being his absolute best. He prides himself on being a prizefighter, and truly embraces the big stage, saying, “I look at it as being a high-level professional athlete. Someone who laced up his cleats to go out there and play in front of all the lights. I look at it like that.
“I get nerves performing at my best. I get nervous about not performing to my abilities. It has nothing to do with even winning or losing. It’s about going out there and being me, and showcasing my skills. That’s what I get nervous about.”
Mike Wellman is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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