Four months ago, Linton Vassell had the biggest fight of his career as he challenged Bellator light heavyweight champion Emanuel Newton for the title at Bellator 124 and he got off to a get start in the fight.
However, Newton would score the second latest stoppage in a Bellator title fight history as he submitted Vassell at the 47 second mark of the final round with a rear-naked choke.
Following the defeat to Newton, Vassell (14-4, 1NC) knew that he needed to make changes and the big change he made was moving his training camp to the Blackzilians in South Florida.
“One of the biggest things was the level of training that I had,” Vassell told The MMA Report. “I was really struggling to find training partners back home at the gym I was training at. I was always going from here to there to train so that was definitely one of the biggest problems I had. Now, I am training at the Blackzilians in Florida so now I am getting to train with the top athletes on a daily basis. My game has really improved and I have been here for nine weeks.”
He will return to the Bellator cage on Friday night at Bellator 134: The British Invasion as he will meet Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou on the main card broadcast on Spike TV. While his goal is to get the victory on Friday night, he is thinking about a potential title shot.
“It’s on my mind, I still want to be champion but when I got the first call, I was surprised,” he said. “I actually thought I had a fight before I would get a title fight. I think I am one fight away, maybe two at the most but I think a win over Sokoudjou and I think that should get a rematch or at least a number one contender fight.”
When it comes to the fight against Sokoudjou, he knows the type of fighter he is facing. He understands that he is facing an aggressive fight that he believes is reckless with his striking and will lead to opportunities for him to finish the fight.
“I expect him to be explosive and go for the knockout straight away,” Vassell explained. “That is the way he fights. He is aggressive and tries to finish you straight away. I am going to be ready for this. I see the fight ending by me winning by TKO.”