Uncasville, CT – (April 2, 2011) —Bellator Fighting Championships returns to the East Coast at the Mohegan Sun Arena for Bellator 39 airing LIVE on MTV2 tonight. This evening’s event features Bellator Lightweight World Champion Eddie Alvarez, Season 2 Lightweight Tournament winner Pat Curran, as well as Lyman Good, Rick Hawn, Toby Imada, Patricky “Pitbull” Freire, Ben Saunders, and Matt Lee. Below you will find quotes from each fighter.
Eddie Alvarez
“Pat Curran is young, he’s hungry, and he has a lot of momentum coming into this fight. Especially considering that he’s been the underdog in every fight he’s had with Bellator, and he’s overcome the odds every single time. So I’m sure he’s very confident and he’s feeling pretty good about being the underdog again. I’m sure he feels like he can overcome the odds, and I truly hope he comes prepared on April 2nd.”
“The only pressure I have is the pressure I put on myself to fight how I know I can fight. I need to live up to my own expectations. More than any fight in my career – in this fight with Pat Curran – I just want to completely dominate. It has nothing to do with Pat; it’s just what I feel like I have to do regardless of who I’m fighting, in order to earn my rank of number one in the world.”
“The fact that Pat [Curran] has been dreaming about this fight with me night after night just makes him that more dangerous. When a person is that fearful, you know they’re going to prepare. They’re going to prepare themselves properly. It’s just a matter of not letting that fear freeze him when he goes in there. Hopefully he can let go of that fear when he gets in the cage, and fight me.”
“If I had a quarter for every time someone said they were going to stand with me and knock me out, I wouldn’t have to fight for a living [laughs]. I have twelve knockouts on my professional record right now, and all of those guys said the same thing Pat Curran is saying right now. He may be saying he wants to stand in front of me, but that would be a stupid, stupid game plan. I highly doubt he’s going to be standing in front of me for long, let me put it that way.”
“I want to dominate Pat Curran. I won’t be happy with anything less than complete and total domination. I don’t want this fight to turn into a brawl and I don’t want to take damage, I just want to go out there and dominate Pat Curran in every aspect of the game.”
“I actually figured out a way to make weight without killing myself for this fight. Lyman Good came down to my gym recently and he gave me some good tips on how to make weight. It definitely seems like the weight is coming off a lot easier this time thanks to the advice I got from Lyman.”
Pat Curran
“I’ve been dreaming every night about this Bellator World Championship fight with Eddie Alvarez. I think about it in the morning, all day, when I go to bed, and in my dreams. I definitely see myself finishing Eddie. It’s been driving me harder than ever before to work hard in the gym. This moment has been playing over and over in my head and now it’s here. I have all the confidence in the world that I can beat Eddie Alvarez so now it’s up to me to go out there and do it.”
“I never wanted to look back at my life and wonder what I could have done. I’ve already made it. I’m 23-years-old and I’m fighting for a word title. I’m living my dream and I feel like the sky’s the limit for me. I definitely have a long career ahead of me. I’m going to be here for a long time, and I definitely know I’m going to be a champion.
Eddie Alvarez is great in every aspect of the game. He doesn’t have any weaknesses so I know it’s going to be a great test for me. He’s going to come hard. I’m expecting that. I know he’s going to come right after me in the first round so I’m just going to make him respect me early on.”
“This is a win-win situation for me. I have nothing to lose in this fight with Eddie Alvarez so I’m going to put it all on the table. The fans are going to see my best performance ever. I have nothing to lose.”
“I’m going to shock a lot of people in this fight with Eddie Alvarez. I’m going to go out there and make a name for myself on Saturday night. People are definitely going to remember me and recognize me from this fight.
I’ve improved tremendously since my fight with Toby Imada. I’m going to be a completely different fighter in this fight with Eddie Alvarez.”
“I’m going to stand right in front of Eddie [Alvarez] and I’m going to let my hands fly. I’m looking for the finish, but I’m also going to be careful not to give him anything he can take advantage of. I’m going to be smart, but like I said, I really just want to stand right in front of him and let my hands fly. I’m coming out there to shock the world. I’ve been dreaming about this fight for months and months, I’ve shocked everyone I’ve fought in the tournament on my way here, and I’m ready to do it again on Saturday night.”
“Being a champion has always been a dream of mine and I don’t have the Bellator World Lightweight Championship right now, so I’m definitely going to be hungrier in this fight with Eddie [Alvarez].”
Lyman Good
“Rick Hawn is coming into this fight with an extensive background in Judo, so I have to respect his ability to get the fight to the ground, but other than that I don’t really see anything from Rick that seriously concerns me. I’m fully prepared to go in this fight and win.”
“I definitely think I’m going to bring something in this fight that he has never seen before. I think I have a different prowess going into this fight with Rick than any of the other opponents he’s fought so far. I’m different than anyone he’s ever faced and I plan on going out there, implementing my game plan on him and sending him home with his first loss.”
“Ben Askren and Rick Hawn have two entirely different backgrounds. Ben is a wrestler and Rick is a Judo guy. Just because they’re both Olympians doesn’t mean that Rick’s judo will translate into the fight the way Ben’s wrestling does. If he thinks that he has an advantage because he’s an Olympian, he has another thing coming. I hope Rick Hawn isn’t looking past me, because that would be his first mistake.”
Rick Hawn
“I definitely think Lyman Good is going to be the toughest fight of my career so far. The fact that he’s already won the title I’m working to get makes him the toughest challenge I’ve had up to this point. He has that experience.”
“It’s hard to tell how powerful Lyman Good truly is. Some guys look really strong, but they really aren’t. It’s hard to tell until you put your hands on someone.”
“Lyman Good has never fought anyone like me before. The closest thing he’s fought to me would be Ben Askren, and Ben Askren tooled him for five rounds. I’m not saying I’m the wrestler Ben Askren is, but I have that same level of grappling in Judo, which Lyman’s never seen before. i definitely think my judo will come in handy during the fight. I see that as something I can definitely exploit in his game.”
Toby Imada
“There’s nothing specific about Patricky Pitbull that gives me any major reason for concern, other than the fact that he’s a dangerous fighter that has just as much of a chance to win as I do.”
“I’m not really sure how dangerous Patricky is right now, but I’ll definitely be able to tell after the fight. I’m not really concerned with how dangerous he is or isn’t, I just have to go out there and make the most of any opportunity he gives to me.”
“At the core, this is just another fight. I’m feeling extremely frustrated and angry heading into this fight, and I just want to get in there and get it over with. My only focus in life right now is this tournament. I have to do what have to do to win this tournament. I’m just going to go into this fight with Patricky, and take out all of my frustration.”
Ben Saunders
“Matt Sung Lee is a tough veteran. He’s been fighting for a long time, he’s fought some really tough competition, and he brings the fight. That’s exactly what I’m looking for. I’m expecting for him to bring the fight and we’re going to go out there and put on a show.”
“Of course Matt Lee’s not going to say he wants to go out there and win a close decision. I know he’s going to be looking for the knockout, but I’m looking for the knockout too. I’m looking for the knockout, the TKO, the submission, or whatever it takes to get the win without going to the judges.”
“It’s been a year since I’ve been on a live televised card and I think my fans are definitely excited to see me fight LIVE on MTV2, and for those that don’t know who I am yet, I’m anxious to go out there and increase my fan base. I’m excited to show the world what I’m capable of and just how much better I keep getting.”
“I come to put on a show and to make it exciting, but above all, I’m going to make you pay for ever stepping foot inside of that cage with me. Whether I kick you in the face, knee you in the face – a punch to the face, an elbow – you name it. I’m looking to make you bleed.”
Matt Sung Lee
“I’ve been waiting for a chance like this for a while. Ben Saunders is a big name in the sport, and this fight is a huge opportunity for me.”
“I know I’m being looked at as the underdog in this fight, but that makes me feel angry. I feel like if I trained with Ben Saunders in the gym, I’d probably be better than him in every aspect. I honestly feel like I have the better stand up, I’m a better wrestler, and I’m better at jiu-jitsu than Ben Saunders.”
“I think Ben Saunders is going to try to take me down. I don’t think he’s going to want to stand with me. I’m going to go out there, light him up, take him down, and submit him.”
“I’m not going into this fight with Ben Saunders just to compete. I’m not taking this fight just to get some TV time, or to tell people that I’m a fighter, or that I fight for Bellator. I’m going out there to beat this guy. I’m entering that cage to knock Ben Saunders out.”
“I have been completely obsessed with this fight for the last 5-6 weeks. My entire life has stopped and all I’ve been doing is thinking about and training for this fight with Ben Saunders. Thinking about winning and how I’m going to beat him.”
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