Bellator 164: "Koreshkov vs. Lima 2" comes to Mivtachim Arena in Tel Aviv, Israel, this weekend, airing Nov. 11, 2016, on Spike TV. Welterweight champion Andrey Koreshkov will once again take on the man he beat to take the crown, Douglas Lima, in the main event of the evening.
For Lima, the rematch can't come soon enough given it's a quest more than one year in the making, dating back to losing the title to Koreshkov in July 2015. He also lost precious time while sidelined with knee surgery, but made up for it with a convincing defeat of Paul "Semtex" Daley almost one year later. That win vaulted the 27-6 Lima right back into the No. 1 contender's spot, but "The Phenom" is facing a phenomenal fighter in his own right. Koreshkov has just one loss in his entire professional career and is coming off a one-sided, five round beatdown of "Smooth" Benson Henderson.
Can Lima overcome the confidence of a champion who already had his number once before in Bellator? Lima is excited to find out this weekend.
"I'm ready for it, man, ready for it. Been training really hard and I can't wait to dance with him one more time."
He saved the last dance for Daley. And despite some trash talking before the fight, he found he earned Daley's respect after it was over, with Daley calling him one of Bellator's top five fighters.
"Ahh! Man it feels good to hear it from such a game opponent like Daley. He's got all my respect as well, man. It was a honor to fight a guy of his caliber. Even though all the talk before the fight, all the nonsense we said to each other -- I mean I didn't say as much -- it is to sell the fight. But, I do have a lot of respect for him."
Lima is ready to take the momentum he gained from winning the main event in London and bring it to Koreshkov. With injuries and surgeries in his rear-view, he feels the rematch will be a whole new fight.
"Yup! Different this time my man! Injury free, I'm finally happy, excited, no doubts in my head. None of that, 'What if this happened, what if that happened.' Right now I'm just there to fight. Man I feel good, I trained very hard for this, I was able to do everything finally -- to wrestle, I was able to train striking, jiu-jitsu -- so man I'm really just looking forward (to) a great battle against such a great opponent like Koreshkov. Man, I can't wait."
Looking back on Koreshkov's successful title defense against Benson Henderson, I asked Lima if there was anything he gleaned from that fight that would help him in this rematch. In the process of answering, Lima revealed he was betting (LITERALLY) on the fight to go exactly the way it did.
"Not really! I kind of expected the fight to go the way it went. I've got some money with (Koreshkov) on that fight -- you know I bet it, I bet it that he was going to beat him and he did! I just see that he's improving you know like everybody should and he's doing his homework. I've done my homework as well and I'm ready for him!"
The reason Lima was so confident in his bet was the size disparity between Koreshkov and Henderson.
"I was not surprised at all. He was definitely undersized there at Welterweight. That's a big jump. I mean good for him, though, he's always done great at 155, you know I think that's a better weight class for him. He's a big boy for 155, but not 170, you know? So, I think that's the right choice for him. The dude is tough man, the dude is really good, and I know he's gonna do a lot better at 155."
We'll see Henderson challenge Michael Chandler for the title on Nov. 19, 2016, but we'll see Lima challenge Koreshkov much sooner than that. And for the second time in a row he'll be in a main event that airs via tape delay on Spike TV.
"Yeah man you know it happened last time too (for) the show in England. I don't really like it, but you know, there's nothing we can do, owing to the time difference and stuff. I wish it was live for everybody you know, but it is what it is. I've just got to go over there and put (in) a great performance. I'm sure a lot of people are going to watch it."
Regardless of whether fans see it live in person or on television the next day, Lima is really excited to headline with Koreshkov for Bellator's first-ever card in Israel.
"Yeah, I feel honored man! A great show in a beautiful country, I can't wait to go over there. I don't know how the scene is over there like the MMA, I don't know if it's big or not, but hopefully they sell a lot of tickets bring a lot of people to the venue and watch this fight. I'm ready man, I'm ready to deliver a great show, a great performance, and I hope a lot of people watch it because it's gonna be good."
Lima is promising to deliver a great fight with Koreshkov in Tel Aviv and he's motivated by a shot at redemption to reclaim the belt that was once his.
"It all works out in the end! I know I've been through some tough years, but you know, circle of life right here back at it fighting for the belt one more time. I can't wait to put that strap on again."
Whether you see it live or on Spike TV on Nov. 11, don't miss Lima's rematch with Andrey Koreshkov in the main event of Bellator 164.
Complete audio of the interview is below and complete Bellator MMA coverage can be found right here on fight night.