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Bellator 226’s Emmanuel Sanchez says featherweight tournament was made for him

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For Emmanuel Sanchez, the Bellator featherweight grand prix tournament offers the chance to prove what he thinks has been the case for a long time: that he is the toughest, most battle-hardened 145-pounder in the organization.

Speaking to MMA Junkie ahead of his first-round tournament bout against undefeated Tywan Claxton (5-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) at Bellator 226, which takes place Saturday in San Jose, Calif., Sanchez (18-4 MMA, 10-3 BMMA) said he heads into the tournament well aware of his rivals, having faced seven of his fellow grand prix participants during his Bellator career.

“I’m going into this grand prix knowing I’ve faced half of these guys who are in this grand prix,” he said. “I’ve been in there with most of these guys from a couple of years ago when I was starting my career with Bellator. Now, going into the tournament with 13 fights in Bellator, and having gone five rounds for the title with the current champion and nearly taking it from him, I think I have an abundance of experience.

“I believe this tournament was made for me. This is truly something great, something epic. I think a lot of guys are just hunting the $1 million or just wanting the fights, or just saying that they were in this. But to me, this is about making history, about being the man who won the featherweight world grand prix and became the undisputed featherweight champion.”

Sanchez faces the undefeated Claxton in a first-round tournament bout that will send the winner through to the quarterfinals and the K-1 style draw. With the tournament packed with a host of former foes and rising stars, he says he’s not too concerned about how the it will pan out. He has one simple goal: Win the whole thing.

“I’m just ready to go out and take it home, man,” he said. “This could be any man’s game here. I know I’m going to go out and destroy Tywan Claxton – I’m gonna take him out. But after that, so many things can happen. We’ve got some insane matchups here.

“I’m hungry and excited to see if I’ll face new blood or get rematches. Whoever it is, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m just excited to go out there and eventually become the undisputed featherweight champion. I’m not just eyeing the title for my next fight. I want to win the whole thing. If it takes me all the way to the end to get the title fight, that makes no difference to me, because I want to leave this tournament as the man who won the whole thing.”

Sanchez is a seasoned veteran of the Bellator cage and says his position as one of the more experienced heads in the tournament will prove decisive when he faces off against Claxton.

“I think he’s a little more of an athlete than he is a fighter, and some people don’t understand the difference between the two,” Sanchez said. “I’m going to show what that means (Saturday). I’m not an athlete, I’m a fighter. I’m a martial artist, a true student of the game. I’ll look to finish the fight everywhere and fight everywhere. Whether it be by knockout or by submission, I’m aiming to get him out of there in the first or second round.

“I’ve already faced a lot of tough guys who couldn’t knock me out or submit me, but all these guys say they want to run through me. It’s going to be a big mistake for them.  So if he wants to make that mistake too, well done. He’ll get a taste of that medicine I’ve got for him, too. That’s most definitely what’s going to go down.”

Sanchez said he sees himself as the dark horse of the tournament.

“I feel like a lot of people are perhaps behind (Juan) Archuleta, behind (A.J.) McKee, Adam Borics,” Sanchez said. “It feels like people want to favor the younger guys coming up.

“The younger guys are saying they want to come in and take out the older guys, and apparently I’m an older guy when really I just have 13 fights in Bellator. I’ve just turned 29, so I’m only just breaking into my true potential of what I bring to the table as a martial artist, as a fighter and as an athlete, too. I have a lot more to show than a 25- or 26-year-old hungry kid who is looking to make a name for himself.

“I’m not saying people aren’t giving me the credit, but I feel like if they were to choose, they would pick someone else over me. So I’d have to say it’s myself, and I can be the one – and will be the one – to go out there and silence all the critics, destroy every opponent on my way to winning this whole thing.

“Whether it means I take on the young guys coming up, or whether it’s rematches with some of the guys I’ve faced in the past, I’m looking to just go out and make history. What’s happened in the past is irrelevant – it’s all about what happens in this tournament. It’s about what you do now, and I’m excited to go out there and take it all.”

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