Bellator 159: “Caldwell vs. Taimanglo” comes to Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kans., this Friday night (July 22, 2016), featuring a main event between Bantamweight contenders — undefeated Darrion Caldwell versus Joe Taimanglo.
However, “Wolf” and “Juggernaut” are not the only contenders on the Spike TV-televised card. Featherweight Emmanuel Sanchez is knocking on the door of a fight with division champion Daniel Straus after three straight wins, including tough divisional clashes with Justin Lawrence and Daniel Pineda (more details here).
Daniel Weichel doesn’t want to be the latest victim of a Sanchez split decision. He rebounded very nicely from a heartbreaking title shot he was one second away from winning to put on an impressive performance in defeating fellow contender Georgi Karakhanyan at Bellator 147.
Weichel recently spoke with MMAmania.com about looking for another win in the competitive Bellator 145-pound division and his hopes to earn a second shot at the title, which started with knocking off Karakhanyan in San Jose, California.
“My coach was constantly telling me not to get into (Karakhanyan’s) game. ‘Keep calm and do what you are doing all the time. Keep working with your jab, picking your shots.’ I kept listening to my corner and did what I had to do.”
It’s easy for Weichel to say he followed the gameplan, but Karakhanyan was reaching Diaz levels of, “come at me bro!” in the third round and threw a desperation cartwheel kick that didn’t help.
“Yeah, no danger in that attack. I saw it coming and just went with the flow. It was a big win for me. Georgi had a good reputation, he was also known as a No. 1 contender before, so this was a very important win for me and another step to get closer to the next title shot.”
Sanchez is a streaking fighter in the weight class who undoubtedly views Weichel as a similar opportunity — a former No. 1 contender who gets him closer to a title shot. Weichel is ready for a strong challenge from his opponent.
“I feel confident, I think I have the all (around) abilities to beat him and dominate him. For me, my mindset is I want to become the champion and I have to beat anybody who’s out there in the division no matter who it is. I take everybody way serious and I respect Sanchez. But, for me I have to take him (out) to get one step closer to my ultimate goal.”
Weichel hasn’t been given any signal from Bellator that it is a No. 1 contender fight, but he believes that the fans have already chosen him for that role.
“I really feel that it is like that. (Bellator) asked who (the fans) want to see in the social media and I saw my name many, many times, so I was pretty happy the fans also want to see (a contender’s) fight. And yeah, I think this is the fight that makes the most sense.”
Even though Sanchez has a reputation of winning fights that are razor close, the judges’ scorecards are not a matter of concern for Weichel.
“I don’t put too much on that. I train to finish fights and when I step in the cage — that’s my goal (and) my intention. I will go there whether striking, wrestling on the ground. I will look for the finish no matter where it is.”
Weichel also won’t let Sanchez rest on having scouted his work in previous fights inside or outside of Bellator. He may have 45 fights under his belt, but for Weichel that doesn’t mean he’s seen or learned everything there is to know.
“There’s always new stuff coming up. I’m constantly working on stuff you know? There are new movements coming in, and there’s so much stuff to learn, and I’m always excited to learn new things and I can’t wait to show some of that stuff (off) on July 22nd.”
Sanchez has just one career win by knockout and five submission victories, so I may have expected Weichel to say the most dangerous aspect of Sanchez’ was his jiu-jitsu. The answer he gave was a bit different.
“He’s a very durable fighter, he always moves forward, and he has heart — definitely he comes to fight. I know that I’m ready for that and I know that I will always be one step ahead of him.”
Fighters will get to weigh in early on Thursday morning before the fights in Mulvane the next night, and Weichel is very much looking forward to getting that extra time to get his body ready for Sanchez.
“I can’t wait for that! This is a blessing for all fighters. Before it was like making the weight and really stepping around for a couple of hours and you just don’t feel good staying on that weight — it’s just exhausting. Having the early morning weigh-ins is perfect. It’s the best thing they could do for the fighters. It’s a great thing and I’m really looking forward to having more time to re-hydrate, to reload, and maybe even have more power inside the cage.”
More power or strength in his arms is bad news for anybody fighting Weichel with 26 career finishes (five knockouts and 21 submissions). Even though he’s racking up big wins and frequent flier miles with fights all around the United States, it’s clear he’d love a fight closer to home.
“Yeah, I would love to change it every now and then for a little bit to maybe fight in Europe. I would love to do that. Just having a two hour flight or something like that would be great, and also to fight in front of my home country would also be not too bad. I’m kind of used to it (though) just to get your relaxation while traveling and it’s all good.”
Weichel is also hoping “it’s all good” in Mulvane, Kansas on July 22 so don’t miss his fight on Spike TV when he takes on “El Matador.”
Complete audio of our interview is below and complete Bellator MMA coverage can be found right here on fight night.