Thiago Meller will be making his Bellator MMA debut tomorrow night in Phoenix, Arizona when he meets Bubba Jenkins in a featherweight bout on the main card of Bellator 126 on Spike TV.
Meller (19-5) comes to the promotion on a five fight winning streak and his most recent win came in February as he defeated Clay French by TKO in an event that took place in his home country of Brazil.
His journey to Bellator started back in 2003 when he had his first professional fight and one of the facts about him is that he is a finisher as only one of his victories have come by decision.
There is one other fact that Meller would like you to know about his life, being a father to his four-year old son Arthur.
“The most important fact of my life was the birth of my son,” Meller said. “Although I always want to be a father, never before could I have imagined the true sense that a child brings to life. The love I felt and feel daily by my son has no explanation. I can spend hours narrating unforgettable moments and events that surely brought more meaning in my life, but could never mention something as important as having Arthur now in it. I know it is like that for my wife too. We love him so much and feel very proud to have such a special and fantastic child who teaches us unconditional love on a daily basis.”
During the official weigh-ins earlier today, he told Bellator announcer Jimmy Smith that he is coming in to win this fight by knockout and he said earlier in the week that he wants to get the finish at any cost.
“Bellator and all the fans can expect a fighter who seeks a knockout or submission,” he said. “Of all my victories, only one went to a decision and my losses were real wars. There is no reason to expect anything other than sheer determination to seek victory — at any cost.”
When you look at Meller’s record, you will notice that all of his defeats have come against notable opponents. All of those opponents are either currently in the UFC or were in the UFC at one time and his first career defeat came by majority decision to current UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
“I was only defeated by excellent fighters and learned a lot after each one of them,” Meller said. “I’ve reinvented myself, and I now believe that my losses served to help me reach the best moment of my career, and I will share that with the world on the stage of Bellator.”
Many people have called Meller the toughest test in the young career of Jenkins. Well, Meller has even said that leading up to this fight. In his training camp, Meller has constantly been studying the game of Jenkins and while he understands the strengths of his opponent, he also understands the weakness of Jenkins.
“Bubba Jenkins is a fighter who has great range, and is very good at grappling,” Meller said. “I think his strong point is to put his opponent down and hold this position until the end of the fight. The weak point, I believe, is that he does not like to fight standing.”
Meller has called his biggest advantage in this fight is the strength of opponents he has faced in the past compared to Jenkins and when he thinks about this fight, he wants to end it by knockout.
“My biggest advantage against Bubba is that I’ve faced much tougher fighters than him and have more experience,” he said. “Most importantly, I am much more complete as a fighter. When I envision this fight, I see me winning in all ways: knockout, submission or decision. But, if I were to have a preference, it would be a knockout with a kick to the head.”