Bellator featherweight Emmanuel Sanchez was in great spirits after a statement win over ex-UFC fighter Sam Sicilia in Chicago on Saturday night.
Chicago, IL — In the co-main event at Bellator 198 on Saturday at Chicago’s AllState Arena, Emmanuel Sanchez put on a show. He capped off a run of four straight main card submissions with his own slick sub of UFC vet Sam Sicilia. The maneuver started out as a standing arm triangle choke; Sanchez then dragged his opponent to the ground and sealed the deal.
It was a big win, and marks four in a row for the talented featherweight, who is now knocking on the door of a title shot. 145lb champion Patricio Pitbull has Daniel Weichel next at Bellator 203 in Rome, but it feels like ‘El Mataor’ is due after that. He was pumped up post-fight, calling for the shot in the cage, but far more reflective back stage at the post-fight presser following the event.
“Yeah, absolutely,” Sanchez said when asked if things played out how he expected. “I knew, I wanted the finish. Every fighter [has] fear, they get in there… for me, there’s no nerves, there’s no fear, just go with the flow, flow with the go, you know what I mean?”
“When I had the opportunity to take it, take it” he continued. “Why go fifteen minutes when you can finish it two or three. Or knock him out in ten seconds, or whatever, however you get the finish. It’s all about getting the job done. In and out. Pain, injury free, little bit of a scratch, but I like to say scratch free, not a scratch on me. That’s it.”
In the end, “stay pretty and be ready for the next one.”
As for whether the win bumped him up the ladder in terms of title contention, Emmuel Sanchez certainly feels it does. “What other featherweight is doing what I’m doing right now? The last one before this, I took out the two-time former champion Daniel Straus.”
Later, he pointed out that “I’ve been waiting patiently, I still took on another contender, another tough fighter, a top tough fighter, no slouch. He came to bang, but so did I, but I came in and strangled him.”
Speaking of Silicia, Sanchez suggested that while the UFC vet hits hard, he was never actually hurt. “Not hurt, I was just like ‘oh, s***’ straight up, excuse my language. Part of me in my mind, again, it was just too much thinking. You know, you just gotta go with the flow, fight the good fight I guess, [but] it just caught me with too much thinking.”
“I like to say he’s like the Rampage almost of the ’45 division,” he added. “He can put people out with that thing. He’s got bombs.”
Despite his post-fight callout, Sanchez later admitted that he understands Daniel Weichel earned his rematch with Pitbull. That said, he’s clearly looking for the winner. And it’s awfully hard to argue against it after Bellator 198.
