The co-main event of next week’s Bellator 135 was initially scheduled to be a bantamweight bout between Eduardo Dantas and Mike Richman, however an injury caused the fight to be delayed to a later card.
With Bellator needing a new co-main event for the fight card, they turned to the already scheduled bantamweight bout between L.C. Davis and Hideo Tokoro.
They were scheduled to be on the preliminary card of Bellator 135 and Davis actually found out on social media that his fight with Tokoro had been elevated to the co-main event slot of the fight card.
“I was shocked, happy, excited, and a lot of things went through my mind,” Davis told The MMA Report. “I actually found out via Facebook. Someone just tagged me in a Facebook message that I am going to be the co-main event. Instantly, I called my manager and I was like ‘hey is this true?’ He confirmed that it was true and I was just super excited. Can not wait for the opportunity. Very thankful for the opportunity and very excited to showcase my talent on such a big stage.”
Davis (22-6) went on to state that he was disappointed initially to be on the preliminary card as he wanted to showcase his skills and show that he should be in title contention. The fighter out of Kansas City, Missouri believes that things happen for a reason and wants to show everyone that he is one of the best bantamweight fighters.
“I think everything happens for a reason,” he said. “I was a little disappointed to be on the prelims. I am looking at the guys that are ahead of me in the main and co-main event. That is the position I want to be in. Everything ended up working out in my favor. I am looking to go out there and showcase my talents to the world, to Bellator, and to everything that doubted me or believed in me. I want to go out there and let them know that I am one of the best bantamweights in the world.”
His opponent next Friday night is a veteran of the sport as Tokoro will be competing in his 62nd career professional bout. Tokoro (32-27-2) will be looking to snap a two fight losing streak and score his first victory since June of 2013. Davis knows he has a tough challenge in front of him and there are two main challenges he sees in this fight.
“Just fighting a veteran like him, with 60 plus fights that is a challenge within itself,” Davis explained. “I know he is not going to be rattled. He has seen it all. He done it all and he has fought everyone. You have to break someone like that and it’s not going to be easy to break someone like that. That is one challenge and then he is a really good submission guy. Most of his wins are by submission so he is dangerous in that aspect. I have to be safe on the ground and aware of where I am at. Those are the main two things I have to look out for in my opinion.”
Davis has won six of his last seven fights and has gone 2-0 in the Bellator cage. A win over Tokoro would be him “in the mix” in the Bellator bantamweight division. One of the advantages he sees in this fight will be fighting in the United States as Tokoro is coming over from Japan and he believes he is going to win by knockout.
“Every time I visualize it, I see myself knocking him out so that is what I am looking for,” Davis said. “Just a finish. I want to finish this guy and I want to look good doing it. I want to go out there, dictate and dominate. Like I said, he is a veteran and it’s not going to be easy to put him away. I feel like I am up for the challenge and I just feel that I am going to be physically stronger than him. I am going to look to go out there and put my hands on him and rough him up.”