Leandro Higo expected to face James Gallagher first in the Bellator bantamweight grand prix, but “the chicken escaped one more time,” he told MMA Fighting.
Higo has been booked to face Danny Sabatello (a trash-talking newcomer who won a fight over Jornel Lugo), and is fully prepared for the battle inside and out of the cage. Sabatello has repeatedly said Hugo “sucks” in every post-fight interview and social media post, to the point where Sabatello’s very first tweet, simply said: “Higo sucks.” With their quarterfinal match slated to go down at Bellator 282 on June 24, the Brazilian bantamweight vows that he is unfazed by his rival’s brash self-promotion.
“He took that opportunity to curse at me, but it’s always the same stuff, saying I suck and he’s great,” Higo told MMA Fighting. “He has to work more on his trash talk material. I am bulletproof against stuff like this. He isn’t the only one to spit at me. He needs work, all he says is others suck and he’s great. This stuff won’t harm any fighter
Higo added that Sabatello keeps repeating how great he is, but “hasn’t showed anything great yet” inside an MMA cage. The 29-year-old American is a former Titan FC champion who holds a 12-1 pro record after back-to-back Bellator wins over Brett Johns and Lugo.
Higo, likewise, is on a three-fight winning streak on his own, highlighted by a second-round rear-naked choke over Ricky Bandejas and a split decision over former Bellator champion Darrion Caldwell.
“All he’s shown so far is that same boring game he always does,” Higo said. “He doesn’t knock people out and doesn’t submit people. It’s always that same boring stuff, laying on top of guys for five rounds and leaving no marks on their faces. He won’t intimidate anyone in the grand prix with just that.
“He is no different from anything I have ever seen. Except for Dudu Dantas or Bandejas, every fight in Bellator was against grapplers. All wrestlers are included in LFA. It’s nothing new for me. Darrion Caldwell was an NCAA champion, Aaron Pico … I’ve been there before.
“If he comes with that same game, he’ll eat a knee right in his mouth so he stops talking crap. He will eat a whole knee if he shoots exactly the same way as he does every time. I’ll smash him. He’ll get the same treatment as everyone else. He’ll get a taste of his own medicine.”
A win against Sabatello guarantees Higo will be next to fight the interim belt against Raufeon Stots in the semifinal. The Brazilian said capturing Bellator gold is his biggest goal, which would make him “champion in every promotion I’ve ever fought, like Eddie Alvarez.”
Speaking with MMA Fighting recently, Stots said he’d prefer to meet Sabatello next — and in Higo’s eyes, that’s just the interim champion hoping for an easier foe.
“It’s a tough fight for all in the grand prix,” Higo stated. Higo said, “I am not an easy opponent for anybody. Danny is a wrestler and that’s what [Stots]. does. He wouldn’t put him in danger on the ground, and on the feet, it would easier for him to win this $1 million. Everyone wanted James Gallagher to be the first. Biggest reward with the lowest risk. Sabatello talks a lot, and would be able to sell the fight very well. But that will not happen .”
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