Bellator 158: Douglas Lima Ready to 'Brutally' Test Paul Daley's Chin
Bellator 158: Douglas Lima Ready to 'Brutally' Test Paul Daley's Chin
By Chamatkar SandhuDouglas Lima hasn’t fought in a year. He last competed at Bellator 140 in July of 2015, when he dropped the welterweight championship to
By Chamatkar Sandhu
Douglas Lima hasn’t fought in a year. He last competed at Bellator 140 in July of 2015, when he dropped the welterweight championship to current title holder Andrey Koreshkov via unanimous decision.
This Saturday, he will return in the main event of Bellator 158 against Paul Daley. The road back has been anything but easy for the one-time champion.
'Bone on bone'
“I’ve been dealing with the same injury that I had before with my knee so I’m finally healthy,” Lima said. “I finally did a treatment that saved my career. I did stem cell treatment and three months after that I was normal, walking with no pain and training with no pain. So right now everything is back to normal.”
Lima said the injury was so severe, he thought his time as a MMA fighter was over.
“It was pretty bad, it was bone on bone on my knee so everything I did was painful,” Lima said. “If I was going to fight every fight like my last one, then my career would be over so I was pretty scared with that. I’m just blessed and very happy that treatment worked out. It really put me back in the game.”
To ensure he came back to his very best, Lima put in one of the longest training camps of his life to not only ensure his knee was fully recovered, but also minimize rust and sharpen his skills.
“I did the procedure in November of last year, so I started training in January,” Lima said. “So ever since then I’ve been training for this fight, getting back in shape and getting everything back to normal so I’ve been in camp for a long time, around 15 weeks so I’m ready to go.”
Which Lima will show up under the lights?
It’s hard to know which Lima we’ll see this Saturday. His last performance a year ago was pretty one-sided. Lima said there was little he took away because he wasn’t able to test Koreshkov to the best of his ability.
“I really didn’t learn anything from that fight (Koreshkov); honestly, I was just trying to survive and not get finished,” says Lima. “I really couldn’t do anything offensively. I couldn’t hurt the guy, I was off balance, couldn’t strike moving forward. So honestly, it was just survival.”
Relieved to put the Koreshkov fight behind, the American Top Team fighter is just happy to be able to train again and vows to show a new and improved self.
“I’m just happy I’m over that and trying to forget that fight and just been working on improving my entire game. I’m finally able to wrestle again, finally able to jiu-jitsu again, so you’re definitely going to see a different Lima from my last fight.”
A fight card in flux
Bellator 158 has undergone a lot of changes. Kimbo Slice passed away, which meant the original main event with James Thompson was off; Fernando Gonzalez had Visa issues, which meant Evangelista Santos had to step in on short notice to fight Michael Page; and Josh Koscheck withdrew from the much-anticipated fight with Daley for undisclosed reasons. Lima was then pulled from his fight with Chid Njokuani at Bellator 156 to fight Daley in the new main event of Bellator 158 just a month later.
With the former welterweight champion now in a main event spot against another top contender in Daley, Lima believes the stakes are even higher and the winner should get a title shot against Koreshkov.
“I think we’re both up in there in the top five in the welterweight list, and the winner here gets the title shot for sure,” Lima said.
Daley is coming into this fight with a five-fight winning streak, and four by KO / TKO. But Lima believes Daley’s opponents haven’t been on his level, and he’ll prove to be too much for the Brit.
“He looks good and has been knocking guys out,” Lima said. “Not to take anything away from those guys; they’ve not been ranked opponents. He finished a lot of fights and has power, but this one is going to be too much for him. I bring a lot more than his opponents have brought. He’s in for a tough night.”
'I'm ready to knock him out'
Leading up to this fight, Daley questioned whether Lima has a susceptible chin—something the Brazilian is quick to deny.
“We’ll see whose chin is weak,” Lima said. “Once that right hand lands on him, he’s going to think twice about everything he’s said. I’m ready to knock him out. I’m ready to tap him out, and I’m definitely going to bring a finish.”
Bellator 158 marks the promotion’s debut in the UK, and Lima thinks this will play to his advantage as the burden to perform will be on Daley.
“I think the pressure is on him because he’s obligated to win, fighting in his home country, in front of a lot of new people so if there’s pressure it’s on him. So with the pressure, that’s good news because it’s going to be an even worse night for him. I see me brutally knocking Paul Daley out in the second round. Brutally.”
Douglas Lima hasn’t fought in a year. He last competed at Bellator 140 in July of 2015, when he dropped the welterweight championship to current title holder Andrey Koreshkov via unanimous decision.
This Saturday, he will return in the main event of Bellator 158 against Paul Daley. The road back has been anything but easy for the one-time champion.
'Bone on bone'
“I’ve been dealing with the same injury that I had before with my knee so I’m finally healthy,” Lima said. “I finally did a treatment that saved my career. I did stem cell treatment and three months after that I was normal, walking with no pain and training with no pain. So right now everything is back to normal.”
Lima said the injury was so severe, he thought his time as a MMA fighter was over.
“It was pretty bad, it was bone on bone on my knee so everything I did was painful,” Lima said. “If I was going to fight every fight like my last one, then my career would be over so I was pretty scared with that. I’m just blessed and very happy that treatment worked out. It really put me back in the game.”
To ensure he came back to his very best, Lima put in one of the longest training camps of his life to not only ensure his knee was fully recovered, but also minimize rust and sharpen his skills.
“I did the procedure in November of last year, so I started training in January,” Lima said. “So ever since then I’ve been training for this fight, getting back in shape and getting everything back to normal so I’ve been in camp for a long time, around 15 weeks so I’m ready to go.”
Which Lima will show up under the lights?
It’s hard to know which Lima we’ll see this Saturday. His last performance a year ago was pretty one-sided. Lima said there was little he took away because he wasn’t able to test Koreshkov to the best of his ability.
“I really didn’t learn anything from that fight (Koreshkov); honestly, I was just trying to survive and not get finished,” says Lima. “I really couldn’t do anything offensively. I couldn’t hurt the guy, I was off balance, couldn’t strike moving forward. So honestly, it was just survival.”
Relieved to put the Koreshkov fight behind, the American Top Team fighter is just happy to be able to train again and vows to show a new and improved self.
“I’m just happy I’m over that and trying to forget that fight and just been working on improving my entire game. I’m finally able to wrestle again, finally able to jiu-jitsu again, so you’re definitely going to see a different Lima from my last fight.”
A fight card in flux
Bellator 158 has undergone a lot of changes. Kimbo Slice passed away, which meant the original main event with James Thompson was off; Fernando Gonzalez had Visa issues, which meant Evangelista Santos had to step in on short notice to fight Michael Page; and Josh Koscheck withdrew from the much-anticipated fight with Daley for undisclosed reasons. Lima was then pulled from his fight with Chid Njokuani at Bellator 156 to fight Daley in the new main event of Bellator 158 just a month later.
With the former welterweight champion now in a main event spot against another top contender in Daley, Lima believes the stakes are even higher and the winner should get a title shot against Koreshkov.
“I think we’re both up in there in the top five in the welterweight list, and the winner here gets the title shot for sure,” Lima said.
Daley is coming into this fight with a five-fight winning streak, and four by KO / TKO. But Lima believes Daley’s opponents haven’t been on his level, and he’ll prove to be too much for the Brit.
“He looks good and has been knocking guys out,” Lima said. “Not to take anything away from those guys; they’ve not been ranked opponents. He finished a lot of fights and has power, but this one is going to be too much for him. I bring a lot more than his opponents have brought. He’s in for a tough night.”
'I'm ready to knock him out'
Leading up to this fight, Daley questioned whether Lima has a susceptible chin—something the Brazilian is quick to deny.
“We’ll see whose chin is weak,” Lima said. “Once that right hand lands on him, he’s going to think twice about everything he’s said. I’m ready to knock him out. I’m ready to tap him out, and I’m definitely going to bring a finish.”
Bellator 158 marks the promotion’s debut in the UK, and Lima thinks this will play to his advantage as the burden to perform will be on Daley.
“I think the pressure is on him because he’s obligated to win, fighting in his home country, in front of a lot of new people so if there’s pressure it’s on him. So with the pressure, that’s good news because it’s going to be an even worse night for him. I see me brutally knocking Paul Daley out in the second round. Brutally.”