Bellator 192 Conference Call Highlights
Just ahead of next weekend’s Bellator 192, Quintin “Rampage” Jackson and Chael Sonnen sat down to discuss their upcoming fight to start off the Heavyweight Grand Prix.
Sonnen seemed to be the heavy focus of the conference as he dominated the majority of questions.
“I love this tournament,” Sonnen said.
“I wish it was all in one night. That’s old school and it sure would be fun,” Sonnen continued.
Bellator president Scott Coker also addressed the tournament set up.
“This tournament happened in an organic fashion,” Coker stated.
“To do it all in one night, people get hurt, it just doesn’t work. Let’s just have it a single elimination and over the period of a year. They can all carry a main event on their own. Its a great story line for the next 12 months,” Coker went on to finish.
It has been scrutinized that the tournament will go for a calendar year. However, Coker’s response did clear several options that could throw a wrench into the tournament setup.
Sonnen also addressed an old altercation that he had with Jackson. Sonnen discussed how the altercation happened in the hotel lobby both fighters were staying and involved Jackson’s brother.
“Ultimately [Michael} Bisping had to step in to break us up,” Sonnen recalled.
Jackson did get a good response for the upcoming fight against Sonnen. With such a size difference over Sonnen, where would Jackson like to be weight-wise?
“I want to be 210 lbs. but thats not going to happen,” Jackson joked.
Event headliners Rory MacDonald and Douglas Lima were also part of Bellator’s media conference, along with Bellator MMA President Scott Coker.
MacDonald was asked about his upcoming fight against Lima.
“I think Douglas’s biggest strength is his power,” MacDonald said of Lima.
“He can hit hard from pretty much anywhere … but I’m not too stressed about it [though] he is dynamic,” MacDonald stated.
Sonnen also had thoughts on Lima ahead of the fight.
“I think Douglas Lima is the most disrespected fighter in all MMA,” Sonnen plainly stated.
“My ego is greatly affected when I’m not the main event. But this is the right one for me to be co-main event,” Sonnen finished.
Bellator 192 will be at the Forum in Los Angeles, California and can be seen on Saturday, January 20 on the new Paramount Network at 9:00 pm ET.
Who was on the line?
Scott Coker – Bellator President
Douglas Lima (29-6) – Bellator welterweight champion
Rory MacDonald (19-4) – Welterweight No. 1 contender
Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (37-12) – Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix competitor
Chael Sonnen (29-15-1) – Bellator Heavyweight World Grand Prix competitor
Updated Bellator 192: MacDonald vs. Lima Bellator Card:
Welterweight World Title Main Event: Douglas Lima (29-6) vs. Rory MacDonald (19-4)
Heavyweight World Grand Prix First Round Bout: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (37-12) vs. Chael Sonnen (29-15-1)
Lightweight Feature Bout: Michael Chandler (16-4) vs. Goiti Yamauchi (22-3)
Featherweight Feature Bout: Aaron Pico (1-1) vs. Shane Kruchten (12-3)
Featherweight Feature Bout: Henry Corrales (14-3) vs. Georgi Karakhanyan (27-7-1)
Updated MyMMANews.com-Streamed Preliminary Card:
Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Devon Brock (Pro Debut) vs. Khonry Gracie (Pro Debut)
Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Ian Butler (3-3) vs. Joey Davis (2-0)
Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Ivan Castillo (14-8) vs. Guilherme Bomba (9-4)
Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Roosevelt Roberts (4-0) vs. Tommy Aaron (4-2)
Bantamweight Preliminary Bout: Kyle Estrada (6-3) vs. David Duran (6-4)
Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Isaiah Culpepper (7-1) vs. Jean-Paul Le-Bosnoyani (6-0)
Welterweight Preliminary Bout: Johnny Cisneros (10-6) vs. Marlen Magee (4-4)
Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Mike Segura (7-4) vs. Arthur Estrazulas (9-3)
Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Noah Tillis (4-2) vs. Jalin Turner (5-3)
Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Christopher Padilla (9-2) vs. Gabriel Green (6-2)
Bantamweight Preliminary Bout: James Barnes (9-2) vs. Chad George (16-8)
Lightweight Preliminary Bout: Andrew Lazo (7-6) vs. Cooper Gibson (7-2)
