In 2013, Goiti Yamauchi entered Bellator as one of the top featherweight prospects in the sport and following two victories, he was placed into the season ten featherweight tournament.
The tournament would not go the way Yamauchi hoped as he was defeated in the opening round by Will Martinez. Yamauchi knows he made mistakes in that fight and he corrected those mistakes at Bellator 120 in May as he defeated Mike Richman.
“Will Martinez is a talented fighter and a difficult opponent to face,” Yamauchi said. “On that night, Martinez was superior to me in that he nullified my game. The reason I’m performing better now is that this loss helped me improve and not make the same mistakes in the fight against Richman. I have a lot more to show Bellator fans – I would say that I’ve only showed 50% of my fighting potential to them so far.”
The victory over Richman was by far the most notable victory of his career. Richman is a former tournament finalist and has been known as a fighter with striking power that can end the fight at any moment. Along with begin a tremendous victory for him, Yamauchi felts he matured in the victory and while some people think he may not have won, it feels there is no controversy in the judges decision.
“I am thrilled to have defeated an elite Bellator featherweight such as Mike Richman,” he said. “I think this win really helped me to mature and added to my game. I am very happy when the announcer sings my victory there in the center of the cage, but I know that, in every struggle, I must always improve more and more each time. I enjoyed my versatility during this difficult battle and the way I overcame my aches and pains in my camp for this fight . I tried not to make one single mistake in this fight, because that would be fatal against a dangerous opponent like Richman.”
“I know that some saw the decision as controversial. I feel I won the first two rounds and he won the third round, but I had a good feel of the fight and imposed my will, and got closer to making myself the definitive victor with the near knockout. It was a very hard fight but I did more than him to merit the win. For me it wasn’t ‘controversial’ and, at the end, my victory was clear!”
On Friday night, he will meet a fighter who is dropping down to the Bellator featherweight division as he faces Martin Stapleton. Since entering Bellator last year, the victories have not come for Stapleton who has gone 0-2 in the promotion. He is coming off a win outside of the promotion and Yamuachi admitted something that is surprising about his knowledge of his opponent.
“I know very little about Martin Stapleton and his fighting style, but I have seen enough to say he is dangerous and a very formidable opponent. I’ll beat him because I want to challenge the champion and, in order to do so, I must win and win, and keep winning.” “Stapleton is very sound as a fighter, but at this point in my career I feel I am better than him in any aspect of the fight. I train hard to have such confidence and I trust in my abilities. And my techniques will be better than ever in this fight.”
As it has been well documented, the tournament structure is now essentially eliminated from Bellator and the road to a title shot has become easier in the promotion. Just like every fighter, Yamauchi has a goal of becoming world champion and he wants fans to remember an era called “The Yamauchi Era.”
“I will be the Bellator featherweight champion because I train so hard and have dedicated all my life to it. I’m ready to fight for the title today. I want more than to be the champion! I want to be a legend of MMA, and for all the fans to remember ‘The Yamauchi Era’ in MMA.”
While Yamuchi does not make any promises on how his fight with Stapleton will end, he does promise that this is a fight that MMA fans will not want to miss as it will be the fight of the night.
“You, who are fan of MMA! You, who are fan of Bellator! Do not miss Bellator 125 because Goiti Yamauchi vs. Martin Stapleton will be the best fight of the night! There will be a high-level of striking with much dynamic movement and action, and I guarantee you will enjoy watching it.”