King of the Cage champion Henry Corrales was recently signed by Bellator and he will be making his promotional debut on June 19 at Bellator 138 when he meets former featherweight champion Daniel Straus on the main card broadcast.
The professional mixed martial arts career of Corrales (12-0) began in 2011 and he opened with five straight wins by submission. His previous eight fights came in King of the Cage and was a five-time champion with that promotion.
Following a win over Aaron Neveu in March, Corrales became a free agent. He was looking to get himself into bigger opportunities in the sport and he is excited to be a Bellator fighter now.
“I had a five fight contract with King of the Cage and I went in there and did my job,” Corrales told The MMA Report. “Did my five fights as a champ and my contract was up. I was ready for bigger and better things. I am so pumped to be fighting for Bellator.”
When the fight between Corrales and Straus was announced, some people in the mixed martial arts community were surprised by the booking. Corrales is a prospect in the featherweight division and Straus is a former champion. While some people may have been surprised, Corrales was not surprised because he made it clear to Bellator that he wanted big fights if he were to sign with the promotion.
“When I had a meeting with Mike Kogan, that was one of my main things with signing with Bellator,” he said. “I want big fights and I want to fight the toughest dudes. I expected not him specifically, but a tough fight right off the bat. I would not want it any other way.”
A win over a former champion would sky rocket Corrales up the Bellator featherweight rankings. He is hoping that a win over Straus would put him in the mix for a title shot. This is what makes him excited for this fight against Straus and this fight is more about what he is going to do, not what Straus plans to do.
“He is a scrappy guy with a wrestling base, but at this point, I am not too concerned with what he does. I have to worry what I am going to do to him,” Corrales explained. “Just go out there and implement my game plan the best I can. I am a very self-centered fighter and I am always training for myself. I just want to be the best person I can be inside and outside of the cage. You can not worry about other people and you just have to do your thing. You have to do your best.”
Bellator 138 will likely be the first time that a lot of mixed martial arts fans are going to see Corrales compete. He calls himself an aggressive, violent fighter that is always looking for the finish. He wants to be in a high pace fight and will not shy any from any exchanges. He plans to get his hand raised in victory and no matter who he is fighting, he always has three priorities in a fight.
“I want to get my hand raised. Second thing, preferably by finish. Third thing, is I want to make sure the fans are entertained. Those are my three priorities in a fight.”