UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Though he was very careful not to divulge too much information as to what was hindering him in Friday night’s main event against Andrey Koreshkov, Douglas Lima hinted that he wasn’t himself at Bellator 140.
“Honestly there were a lot of wrong things with this camp,” the Brazilian said, shortly after losing his welterweight title. “I don’t want to go into details on that, because I don’t want to take anything away from Koreshkov. He fought a good fight. I know I can do a lot better than that. It was just different. There was some stuff that was wrong, but we’re going to fix it and come back. I’m confident that I’m going to get this belt back. But I’m just happy to be back fighting. It’s been a long layoff. But it wasn’t me 100 percent in there. We’re going to come back.”
The 24-year-old Koreshkov was able to keep Lima off balance by taking the fierce striker Lima down at intervals throughout the fight. When standing, the Russian used the clinch on the fence to stay out of Lima’s range, and worked the body with kicks when they did stand and trade.
Lima — who was fighting for the first time in 15 months after winning the vacant 170-pound title against Rick Hawn — was never able to find a rhythm in the fight, and lost on the scorecards 50-45, 48-47, 50-45.
He was very careful not to lean on any excuses for his performance on Friday, while at the same time making it clear there were things plaguing him.
“Everybody trains with injuries in this sport that we do,” he said. “It’s rough. But yeah, there was some stuff going on with this camp. But, like I said, I never want to use that as an excuse. I’m just happy that I went in there and fought five rounds. It was a fun fight. I just wish I was more ready for it. It’s okay. It’s part of the game, you know. You win some, you lose some, I’m going to come back better from it.
“It was just frustrating. I couldn’t get the rhythm. It was all on me. No excuses. Just props to him. I don’t even know what to say anymore. He fought a good fight, and I’m happy for him. But I’m coming back for that belt. I can guarantee you that. I’m going to come back 100 percent next time. If I’m not 100 percent, I’m not sure I’m going to take a fight now. So I’m just going to heal up, take a little bit of a break, check what’s wrong, check everything and come back.”