After exiting the UFC last year, Francis Carmont signed with Bellator and he will make his promotional debut next Friday night as he meets Guilherme Viana on the main card of Bellator 135 from the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma.
When this fight was announced, the first thing that most people may have noticed it that Carmont (22-10) is fighting at light heavyweight and not middleweight.
Is Carmont planning to fight in both divisions in Bellator? According to Carmont, he is just concentrating on fighting in the Bellator light heavyweight division.
“Now I prefer to focus on the fight,” Carmont told The MMA Report. “I just want to fight and not focus on my weight. This time, I believe I will stay at 205.”
He will enter Bellator 135 on a three fight losing streak and the defeats came in the UFC against Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, C.B. Dollaway, and Thales Leites. With the name value that Carmont brings to Bellator, he is someone that could be on the fast track to a title fight. However, Carmont does not want to talk about that as he is just concerned with his fight next Friday night.
“I do not want to speak about the title in Bellator because this is my first fight with Bellator,” he said. “I just want to focus on this fight. He is a tough guy.”
Just like Carmont, Viana (6-1) will be making his Bellator debut and this will be his first fight outside of Brazil. He has won three in a row and all of his wins have come by either knockout or submission. Carmont will likely be a huge favorite on the betting odds but he knows that Viana is a talented fighter.
“I am sure he is going to want to take control of the cage,” Carmont said. “He has a good boxing game and he is a good fighter. I am so prepared for his game, I am ready for him.”
When Carmont was in the UFC, there were a lot of fans that did not like his fighting style. The fighter out of Paris, France wants to put on exciting fights in the Bellator cage and he plans to show that next week by scoring a stoppage victory against Viana.
“For the moment, I am only focused on one goal which is to win this fight. Finish the fight and make it an exciting fight.”