The co-main event of Bellator 140 on Friday night in Connecticut is an interesting welterweight bout as veteran Paul Bradley looks for his second straight win as he meets Chris Honeycutt.
Bradley (22-6, 1NC) entered Bellator back in 2013 and has won two of his three fights in the promotion and he is coming off a decision win against Josh Neer at Bellator 129 last year.
While Bradley is a veteran of the sport, he is considered the underdog by many people in the MMA world. The belief with some people is that Honeycutt is going to continue his rise up the rankings and score the biggest win of his career. However, Bradley feels that his opponent does not have enough experience to be ready for him at this point of his career.
“There is a lot of hype around Chris Honeycutt, but I am battle tested,” Bradley told The MMA Report. “I have fought some of the best guys in this sport at my weight and outside my weight. I am a good wrestler with good hands and kicks. He is 6-0, but he has not fought the type of caliber guys that I have fought. I think he is young in his career and not experienced enough to be ready for a fight like this.”
The welterweight division is one of the best divisions currently in Bellator. Friday’s main card will feature five welterweight bouts and it kind of has a tournament type feel to it. The Bellator welterweight title will be on the line in the main event and the next title challenger will likely be on this card. With all of that being said, Bradley knows he needs to get a finish to show everyone at Bellator that he should be in line for the next title shot.
“I think is what they are looking for. They are looking for a quick, clean finish,” he said.
I am not sure a grind out, bang out is going to get me to where I need to be. I am going in there looking to finish this kid. Prove a statement that he is not at my level yet. It’s going to take him awhile to get to that level.”
Everyone in the MMA community is well aware of the hype train around Honeycutt at this time. He is viewed as a potential title challenger in Bellator and recently told The MMA Report that he wants to be fighting for the title in the next year. However, Bradley does not understand all of the hype around Honeycutt and is motivated by all of the people picking Honeycutt to win this fight.
“The hype around this kid, I do not know where it comes from. He has beaten subpar guys and that is no offense to his opponents. If you look at the track record, I think there is only two guys that have a winning record. I have fought those tough guys. Mike Pierce, Nathan Coy, Josh Neer, and Luke Rockhold. My track record speaks for itself. Although I did not come up on the winning side of all of those fights. I was competitive and it’s motivation that they are hyping him up as the next big thing. I got way more experience but for some reason, people think this kid is going to run right through me.”
Hear more from Bradley on his fight against Honeycutt on Friday’s edition of The MMA Report Live.