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LOS ANGELES — Henry Corrales got really excited when Bellator came to him with the idea of participating in the featherweight grand prix.

But something got lost i translation.

The Southern California-based fighter assumed that Bellator was planning an old-school, one-night tournament, the type put on in the early days of the sport. And for his part, Corrales was ready to bite down on his mouthpiece and throw down.

“I got pretty excited because I thought it was all gonna be in one night,” Corrales told MMA Junkie at Thursday’s Bellator 228 media day. “I’m like, ‘Aww hell yeah, I want to see who the (expletive) man is, alright. Let’s (expletive) dance.’ But they were like, ‘It’s going to be spread out, and I was like, ‘OK, cool.’”

While he won’t get the chance to put his name down in the history books in the manner of Royce Gracie or Mark Coleman, Corrales (17-3 MMA, 5-3 BMMA) is still enthused about the 16-man tournament. He’s had to wait for his next fight after his memorable knockout of Aaron Pico in January for his fifth straight victory.

And while the wait could have stalled out his momentum, the tournament is a fine way to get back up and running. Corrales will meet former Bellator bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell (12-3 MMA, 9-2 BMMA) in an opening-round fight on Saturday night at Bellator 228 from The Forum in Inglewood, Calif.

And with Caldwell’s credentials as an elite wrestler, Corrales doesn’t see any big secrets on how the fight will play out.

“I don’t know, dude. I’m not that smart, but it’s pretty obvious what his strengths are,” Caldwell said. “The dude’s an elite-level wrestler with some serious credentials that cannot be overlooked. Long, rangy southpaw, and yeah, it is what it is, dude.”

Corrales isn’t letting himself think through what might happen if he emerges from the tournament with the championship and the $1 million prize. But he’s pretty sure he’s going to spend it.

“I don’t know exactly what I do, but one thing for sure is I’m going spend it all,” he said. “Dude, that’s what you do with money. It’s going to be gone, dude. But hopefully it’s going to be, like, spread out, I’m going to be smart about it. I’ve got cool people in my life who I respect, so they’ll keep me in line.”