Emmanuel Sanchez celebrates a win on top of the Bellator cage. Photo Credit: Bellator MMA
Emmanuel Sanchez: ‘I’m gonna catch ’em all like Pokemon’ in Bellator Grand Prix
Emmanuel Sanchez discusses his entry into the Bellator Featherweight Grand Prix and his opening round matchup with the unbeaten Tywan Claxton at Bellator 226.
The event takes place Sept. 7 at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. and will feature four opening round matchups on the road to an undisputed Bellator featherweight champion and a $1 million gran prize.
“El Matador” discusses what he learned from his title fight decision loss to Patricio Pitbull at Bellator 209, how he was able to bounce back with a win over Georgi Karakhanyan at March’s Bellator 218 event, how he likes the matchup with Tywan Claxton, if he’s been impressed with his upcoming opponent’s surge onto the scene, if the preparation has been different considering his opponent’s lack of experience, how he sees the fight playing out and much more.
Sanchez also discusses wanting a piece of all 15 of the competitors in the tournament and predicts that his upcoming run will be compared to becoming a Pokemon master beginning at Bellator 226 against the 5-0 Claxton.
“I knew it was inevitable — Grand Prix style or not — I’ve been wanting to fight all of these guys,” Sanchez told MyMMANews.com. “This is going to sound cheesy, but going back at watching Pokemon, if you want to be a Pokemon master, you have to catch them all, right? I’ll continue to say it: I want to be the master. I want to be the best in the world — the very best, like no one ever was. I’ve got to go out there and catch ’em all, man. Catch them all, beat them all and put them all in my Poke Ball. Another one bites the dust come Sept. 7 and I’m looking to add Tywan Claxton’s skull to my list.”
Check out the full interview with Emmanuel Sanchez as he prepares to face Tywan Claxton at Bellator 226 in the video above.
