Bellator Prospect Akonne Wanliss talks Bellator win, Star Wars game, and much more
English Bellator prospect Akonne Wanliss joins My MMA News’ Lucas Grandsire to talk about his big win at Bellator London, playing video games, his contract situation, and so much more.
With the first round submission win over Tim Barnett, “J3DI” Wanliss improves his professional mixed martial arts record to 4-1. The victory was the lightweight fighter’s second with the Bellator promotion after entering the contest on a second round knockout over Sam Slater in May.
Wanliss, a big fan of the Star Wars movies, calls the maneuver he used in his latest submission win, “The Darth Vader” choke, a play on the similar D’Arce Choke.
Still relatively new to the Bellator promotion, Wanliss is one of those fighters that could be used primarily for cards booked overseas in England, given the number of times the organization has been there in recent years.
“I think it is very good for the sport, very good for the brand (Bellator), to dive into the Europe scene, especially in the U.K. We’ve got a lot of talent in the U.K.,” Wanliss said. “Especially in Birmingham as well. Giving us a huge profile to showcase our skills is only going to raise the profile of one, MMA, and raise the talent and give us an opportunity and a platform to shine and grow into big superstars.”
Check out the interview with Akonne Wanliss at the top of the page.
