On the televised portion of Bellator 124, there will be three fighters making their Bellator debuts and one of those fighters is Brazilian bantamweight Zeilton Rodrigues.
Rodrigues (12-3) will be facing LC Davis in the second fight to be shown on Spike TV and this will be his first fight to take place outside of his home country of Brazil.
The Nova Uniao product is currently on a six fight winning streak and in his third professional fight, he scored a TKO victory over current World Series of Fighting bantamweight champion Marlon Moraes.
The victory over Moraes is one of six career victories to come by TKO/KO and while he loves the stand up game, he has no problem in going to the ground to submit his opponent.
“I grew up boxing so I’m very comfortable on my feet,” Rodrigues said. “There’s nothing in the world like scoring a big highlight reel knockout. Every time I enter the cage, I’m looking to throw heavy leather and score a knockout. However, I’m always prepared to fight on the ground and submit my opponent. I have been trained to win by any means necessary.”
One of the popular questions that journalist like myself will ask a fighter is, “why do you fight?” While Rodrigues answer is similar to some fighters, one of the reasons he fights is because he dreams of being great like other fellow Brazilians.
“I fight for the same reason many Brazilian fighters decide to compete,” he said. “I fight to create a better life. I fight because I have a dream. I dream of becoming great. That is why I fight.”
A cliche that gets talked about in mixed martial arts is that fighters have to eat, sleep, and breathe this sport to become great. For Rodrigues, he does all of those things including being in bed and thinking about training.
“Fighting has consumed every aspect of my life,” Rodrigues said. “I dream of becoming champion and I train constantly to achieve that goal. When I’m not training, I literally lie in bed dreaming about training. It is my passion in life. It’s what fuels and drives me every day.”
While Rodrigues is an unknown with mixed martial arts fans in the United States, his opponent is very well known. LC Davis (21-6) has competed in multiple organizations such as the IFL and the WEC. Rodrigues knows that Davis is well rounded fighter and plans to be ready for wherever the fight might take place.
“LC Davis has a lot of experience in this sport. He’s well rounded and he’s a big, strong guy for the division,” he said. “However, I’m ready to fight him anywhere. LC Davis is going to have to deal with my hands. I feel like my boxing will definitely be an advantage for me in this fight. An advantage I plan to capitalize on.”
During last week’s Bellator event on Spike TV, only one of the main card fights went the distance and that was the main event. Rodrigues has no intentions of letting this fight go to the judges as he plans to win by either knockout or submission.
“I don’t see this fight with LC Davis making it to the judges. I feel like it’s going to end early. I don’t care if I win by knockout or submission, but I plan on finishing him. He can say anything he wants before the fight. I guarantee, I’m going to hit him like an iron hammer.”