Douglas Lima is one of the most accomplished fighters in Bellator history, but he finds himself in a unique position ahead of his Bellator 283 main event bout with Jason Jackson, which goes down Friday night in Tacoma, Wash.
“The Phenom” has beaten a who’s who of the Bellator welterweight division since his promotional debut more than a decade ago, topping the likes of Rory MacDonald, Michael Page, Andrey Koreshkov, Paul Daley, and Lorenz Larkin, but has dropped decisions to Gegard Mousasi, Yaroslav Amosov, and Page in a span of 12 months from 2020 and 2021.
It’s a must-win situation for Lima, who also missed weight by 1. 8 pounds at Thursday’s Bellator 283 weigh-ins.
Jackson, on the other hand, has won five in a row going into his first headlining spot in Bellator — five decisions over Daley, Neiman Gracie, Benson Henderson, Jordan Mein, and Kiichi Kunimoto. This is his best season in his professional career.
Lima enjoys the matchup even though he regards Jackson as “a tough fight .”
“He’s coming off good wins, he’s tough and durable and doesn’t get tired, but it’s a good matchup for me,” Lima said on a recent episode of MMA Fighting podcast Trocacao Franca. “He has good boxing and decent wrestling, and I think he’ll try the same thing he did to Daley. Tough fight, but I like the matchup.”
Regardless of what Jackson might try against him inside the circular cage, Lima isn’t even considering leaving Washington with another loss in his MMA record.
“Three [losses] in a row, that’s never happened before, but it’s normal,” said Lima, a multiple-time welterweight champion in Bellator with an overall record of 32-10. As we age, we start to see the positive side. Fighting is tense. Fighting is intense. I think I still have that fire in me, I still have a lot of fights to do.”
Lima flew to Thailand to train for Bellator 283, something he has done three times before in his career but wasn’t able to since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The Brazilian said it’s challenging to be away from family for so long, but it’s a necessary sacrifice to get out of his comfort zone.
” All we do is train so Lima decided to go there. Although I was expected to be there longer, I only managed to stay for two to three weeks. But every visit I’m able to learn so much. I couldn’t go there for those three losses I had, but I’m back to my normal schedule now after COVID. Because I must win, I will chase this victory.
“I’m healthy, I’m feeling physically well. Everything hurts after 30 [laughs], but I’m back to training like before. As I got older, I had to slow down my training. It makes a huge difference. Although it’s difficult, I train twice daily to improve my skills. It’s important to go that extra mile. Although I feel broken at the end, it was a good feeling. It’s time to go back to the old form [laughs].. No way.”
Jackson, nicknamed “The Ass-Kicking Machine,” is 15-4 in the sport with seven finishes to his credit, none of those under the Bellator banner. Lima said that Jackson “finds a way win”. I must be cautious and not allow him to stall .”
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“Winning is what matters most, and that’s why I want to win it the best I can,” he stated. “I wanna submit him, I wanna knock him out. “I don’t want to be ruled, particularly not for five rounds. Only decisions and decisions [in my past four fights] and losing a bunch of them, but that’s the game we play. We don’t always get there. Guys are getting tougher and tougher, especially since I’m always fighting the best.
“But I want to knock him out, I want to submit him, because I want to fight for the belt again and the only way I get that [chance] is by putting on a show with those knockouts people love to see. I’m confident I’ll get the knockout. A good win and a great knockout will ensure that I fight again .”
for the belt.
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