Owen Evinger will appear in the Bellator Fighting Championships for the third time on Friday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida at Bellator 80, but this will be the first time that he will be in the main event. 
He will be taking on former Bellator featherweight champion Joe Warren in a bantamweight bout and he is excited for the opportunity to take on a former champion and feels that it’s a good matchup for him.
“It’s a fight that I think I can win”, Evinger told TheMMAReport.com. “He has been knocked out the last two times he has fought, so I felt like it’s a good matchup and a good opportunity for me.”
Warren (7-3) is currently on a two fight losing streak, which he has been knocked out in both fights. Evinger knows that his opponent is a great wrestler, but he is lacking skills in striking.
“His striking is not at the level as most guys. He is a great wrestler and great ground fighter, but I think that he is lacking a little in his striking.”
Evinger (7-3) started his career with six straight victories, with four of those victories coming by submission in the first round. However, he has lost two straight and three of his last four fights. All three of those losses have come by submission and he has been working on making sure the fight stays on the feet and does not go to the ground.
“We worked on takedown defense and obviously striking and just being evasive, moving and not just standing right in front of him because he comes straight forward and that’s something we are just going to stay away from.”
During his MMA career, Warren always seems to get off to a slow start in his fights and gets stronger as the fight goes on. Evinger realizes this and knows that it’s something he will need to capitalize on if Warren gets off to a slow start.
“He always seems like to start out slow in the first round. Usually, almost every fight I have seen, he has lost the first round in my opinion. I think that it’s something that I have to capitalize, come out strong and taking advantage of the first round.”
Evinger will be looking to finish the fight whenever he can, but he sees himself getting the knockout victory on Friday night at Bellator 80 in South Florida.
“I’m going to stand up with him and try to defend his takedowns and all of that. It’s looks really good to me because I’ll be able to knock him out, so that’s what I see happening.”