Cris Cyborg | Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images
Fighters are scheduled to start chatting today at 1:30 p.m. ET from inside Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Bellator 249: “Cyborg vs. Blencowe” takes place this week (Thurs., Oct. 15, 2020) at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Women’s Featherweight champion Cris Cyborg (22-2, 1 NC) puts her title up on the line against “Angerfist” Arlene Blencowe (13-7), winner of three straight fights.
The fighters are scheduled to participate in what the promotion is calling a “Virtual Media Day” this afternoon (Tues., Oct. 13, 2020), starting at 1:30 p.m. ET. Expected participants include:
Cris Cyborg (1:30 p.m.) – Bellator Featherweight
Ricky Bandejas (1:45 p.m.) – Bellator Bantamweight
Saad Awad (2:00 p.m.) – Bellator Lightweight
Patricky Freire (2:15 p.m.) – Bellator Lightweight
Leandro Higo (2:30 p.m.) – Bellator Bantamweight
Mandel Nallo (2:45 p.m.) – Bellator Lightweight
Jaleel Willis (3:00 p.m.) – Bellator Lightweight
Arlene Blencowe (3:15 p.m.) – Bellator Featherweight
Christian Edwards (3:30 p.m.) – Bellator Light Heavyweight
Selected news and memorable quotes from the participants will be available below.
Cris Cyborg: “I’m never content. I always think this way, this way motivate me every time, every morning when I wake up. I’ll be prepared the day of the fight.”
Cyborg: “The one thing that makes me happy is the real 145 pound (division). I always believe in the 145 pound division. Scott Coker signs all the 145 pound women and it’s going to make for a great division, great fights.”
Cyborg: “I’d (like to) have a dream fight in Japan, I’ve never had the opportunity to fight in Japan, for me if I had the opportunity make the best fight a promoter can do. It doesn’t matter where it’s at.”
Cyborg: “For me I feel very blessed to be where I’m at but it’s hard work. It just motivates me to keep improving my game. For now I’m focusing on Arlene Blencowe but everybody knows my dream is to have one boxing fight.”
Cyborg: “I think Julia did great in her last fight, and Cat Zingano I’m happy that she’s coming back and fighting and she’d be a great opponent for Julia Budd.”
Cyborg: “I never choose my opponents, I always like to try to be ready for everyone. All my career I never chose my opponents. I always be ready and say yes.”
Cyborg: “Scott Coker respects me, it’s a healthy relationship, it’s very nice. I worked with him before in Strikeforce, and when I saw him in Bellator it was like ‘welcome home.’ People can see every day how happy I am and how motivated I am to do every fight here.”
Cyborg: “I know (some of) my fights finish early, but I always prepare for five rounds. When I start training, I’m getting better each round, better and better. I respect all my opponents. The girls are getting better and you can see a lot of young kids training mixed martial arts. Yes this is very cool and they’re just going to get better.”
Cyborg: “You know I really love my job. When you love your job you dedicate more. I wake up every morning happy and I do my training every day. I want to train more than my opponents. This motivates me. If you continue to be disciplined in training and believe in yourself (the outcome is good). You just have to work hard.”
Ricky Bandejas: “I’m hoping Thursday we get the win and come full circle and redeem all the losses. I think (135) is stacked man. I can’t wait to mix it up with all of them.”
Bandejas: “Higo is more of a veteran, he’s had a lot of fights, he’s been in there with the best. I expect to go out there and fight hard.”
Bandejas: “(Gallagher) did good. A fight people questioned him on, and he went out there and finished his opponent. Good for him.”
Bandejas: “Brett Johns, Raufeon Stots, Josh Hill, guys with good records that haven’t lost much. You’ve got to put them right at the top (of this division).”
Bandejas: “I don’t put much thought into him (overlooking me). If he is that’s his mistake. We’ll see on Thursday.”
Bandejas: “I didn’t think (an empty arena) was going to be an issue, but you have to dig deep because you don’t have the crowd to pump you up. This fight I plan on understanding that. He might just show up and be a gamer. A lot of fighters don’t seem to have a problem with it, so that’s on him.”
Bandejas: “American Top Team, they have a good system running, they’re allowing the fighters to get in there and mix it up.”
Bandejas: “I think Brett Johns can do real well. I think he’s going to mix up well with everybody.”
Bandejas: “If that’s what (Gallagher) wants, a rematch, I have no problem doing it.”
Bandejas: “(Higo) looks like he’s calm when he fights, and he’s good anywhere, on the feet or on the ground. You just can’t make a mistake with him.”
Saad Awad: “I have ADD man. I go a hundred miles an hour with whatever I’m doing. I’m not a guy who is going to sit on his couch and let time go by. The only blessing I got out of the pandemic is that I spent a little more time at home with the kids, watch them grow. I want to be active though. I want to fight as much as I can. I’m not happy about it, the world got put on standstill, but it is what it is.”
Awad: “Okay let’s see if the hype matches up when you’re going up against a guy like me. (Nallo) has a lot of talent, he’s going to have a great career, but I’m definitely going to stop the hype train that’s behind him.”
Awad: “Once I win this fight I’m going to ask for the top two guys and get right back in there. I need to get back in that conversation. I still believe I’m one of the best in Bellator, I’ve just got to get back out there and prove it.”
Awad: “If you live in fear you’ll never be able to accomplish anything, no matter what’s going on. I still wake up every day, have my coffee, kiss my babies, whether there’s a pandemic going on outside or not.”
Awad: “I feel like I put my neck out there whenever they’ve needed me. I’ve never turned down a fight. I broke my ankle, cut the top of my foot, glued it together, (and) when I fought Benson Henderson I tweaked my back real bad. I still went out there and fought. When I win I plan on staying with Bellator and making my run back to the title.”
Patricky Freire: “My brother wants to see me with the (Lightweight) title. I’m very happy for him, but he’d like to pass that title to me (with a win).”
Freire: “I’m very happy because I saw (Alan Omer) finish Ryan Scope, but I don’t know him. If he wants to try and finish me, he say he will finish me, but it’s good to see he think about me and say this shit about me. I can beat him with the right hand or both hands. If he try to finish me, I will finish him before he thinks about finishing me.”
Freire: “I don’t like (Chandler), he don’t like me. He don’t like my brother, my brother don’t like him. Fuck him. I don’t care.”
Freire: “(Jaleel) likes to kick, he likes to fight for decision, and he’s a tall guy. I’m here to finish, everybody know, I’m the king of KO. I will finish. I try all the time to finish my opponents, to kill everybody, it doesn’t matter who is next.”
Freire: “The pandemic is not difficult to me because I have one gym, I can close the gym and train inside there, or I can train inside my house. I can train a lot of places. In my city the pandemic is normal. I can train normal.”
Leandro Higo: “I’ve been fighting the best since day one in Bellator. I’m here to be the best and you guys will see that on Thursday.”
Higo: “Those guys have shown how good they are and Ricky (Bandejas) doesn’t present the same as some of the champions I’ve fought. He doesn’t hold a candle to them.”
Higo: “After that victory (Gallagher) had he said he wants to fight anyone in the division. After I win on Thursday we’ll see if he’s a man of his word.”
Higo: “Because of COVID-19 everything was moved around. It’s always good to fight on the same card as the Pitbull Brothers because the savagery becomes present during fight week.”
Higo: “My dream fight is always about being the world champion, so whoever has the belt, that’s who I work for every day. That’s always going to be my dream fight. After this Thursday I’m going to be one step closer to making my dream come true.”
Mandel Nallo: “A guy like (Saad) you’re kind of lucky to fight him. He’s fought so many times that you know stuff about him. The goal every time is to eliminate things your opponent can do well, but fights never play out the way you expect them to. Just work on the things they’re good at and you’ll be alright.”
Nallo: “Since I’ve been at Tri-Star ten years plus, it’s very inspiring and encouraging to every day see the best guys in the world, and to feel like you are one of the best because you’re right there with them. You always have that apprentice mentality coming to a place like Tri-Star, but when you’re sparring with them every week, you form that opinion of yourself.”
Nallo: “As far as I know it’s been super safe. I wish I could move around a little bit more. That’s how safe it’s been (in Connecticut).”
Nallo: “I think (a win) puts me right in there. A guy who has a record as long as his, a patch of four losses could happen anywhere, so it doesn’t mean much. Beating him makes me relevant in the division.”
Nallo: “I have an appreciation for rats, but I make that stuff (on Instagram) myself.”
Jaleel Willis: “It was an honor to get the match up but it wasn’t a surprise. After Vinicius I knew it was only the beginning. It was a surprise about the name but the caliber of the fighter wasn’t a surprise at all.”
Willis: “They see something, the coaches see the same thing, and it’s a situation where they now I’m capable of coming to get the job done. It’s all just like a great feeling to know that your hard work is getting noticed.”
Willis: “Round one will look like a young dude out there with a veteran. I might look a little slow, I might come out a little wobbly on like some Bambi legs, but one thing that’s great about me is I adapt with each second of the fight. I see that first round being a situation where it’s kind of like a chess match but if I see my opening I’m definitely gonna take it.”
Willis: “I work off everything I can possibly get. He’s aware of the same blueprints as well. The holes are still there, and there are going to be new holes throughout our fight.”
Willis: “If I can get the fight I want the fight, and if I can be healthy I’m going to make sure I’m healthy, and I go through all the protocols to make sure I’m cleared and my team is cleared. LFA had things pretty locked down as well. I can say it’s more so a little more comfortable here.”
Willis: “After this fight people are going to see I’m a contender either way. I’m not backing down from nobody. I don’t fear nobody but God bro. I don’t fear no man but God.”
Willis: “I’m healthy so I don’t see no reason to sit back and ice myself. I’m only getting older man. I’m trying to fight as much as I can and shine as much as I can.”
Willis: “I welcome all (fights). Welterweight is an easy cut for me but I feel like I’m pretty small for Welterweight. I like competing at Lightweight a lot. I would say Lightweight is my division (going forward).”
Arlene Blencowe: “So many people have tried and failed (against Cyborg) but not all of them. I think some things have been exposed in recent times and I hope I can expose them too.”
Blencowe: “At the end of the day she’s human. She’s beatable, but in saying that going back to the Nunes fight, when you watch it it could have gone one of two ways. It did show that she was beatable, something no one else had done, so I definitely take comfort in that. I always said that was the way to beat her, put it right back on her I guess.”
Blencowe: “We’ve been lucky. There was a period when all the gyms were closed in Australia, but I am lucky that I’ve got a set up at home that allowed me to keep training, but it’s been a good three months now since gyms opened back up.”
Blencowe: “The odds are against me but all the greatest success I’ve had in my life has come from me being an underdog. We Aussies we thrive as underdogs. I think I’m going to shock the world on Thursday night.”
Blencowe: “The fight being allowed to happen is a great thing because I thought 2020 was just going to be a write off. I’m stoked that it’s going to happen this year.”
Blencowe: “If she sees that I’m on the back foot or in danger, she smells fear, she’s going after that. This is her first title defense so she’s going to want to get it done early too. It’s important that I state my dominance in the fight early on.”
Blencowe: “It’s something that we’ve focused on a little bit more in the last year or so. I’m enjoying it. I wouldn’t say I’m at the end of my career, but I am at the peak of my career. Fighting against Cris Cyborg for the world title is huge. Why not enjoy it?”
Blencowe: “I think my boxing, my hands are more precise. Speed, obviously. I’ve got technically faster hands and more precision but it will be interesting to see what it’s like in there. You don’t have to hit someone hard with those four ounce gloves.”
Blencowe: “When I got signed by Bellator my record was 5-4, and that’s why I’ve been so loyal to them, because they gave me that recognition on the world stage. I turned my side sport into my main sport and focused on fixing my weaknesses in wrestling and BJJ.”
Christian Edwards: “It’s been good so far. It’s been a great experience. I love coming out to Mohegan Sun. I feel like a little kid. I’m ready to perform on Thursday. I’ve been preparing for a hell of a fight. Hamza Salim is a hell of a fighter. I noticed that he’s a very kick heavy guy and I don’t think it poses much of a threat but I’m going to be ready for it. I’m not overlooking it. I feel like it’s a good stylistic match up for me.”
Edwards: “This is honestly, I mean this with all my heart, that’s the funnest fight I’ve had out of my three fights in Bellator. I showed I can go the full 15 minutes and I showed my wrestling, grappling and striking all in one fight. It’s good to know I can do the full 15.”
Edwards: “I don’t freak out when it comes to showtime. Even in my pro debut it wasn’t intimidating to me. Honestly I’m going to trust that my manager is going to be on top of his game when it comes to getting me the right fights but I feel like I can hang with the best in the division. I’m ready with that. I can hang with those guys and I can beat those guys.”
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