A recent camp change, and the birth of his baby boy has Saad Awad motivated for a co-main event scrap against Ryan Couture at Bellator 201 this Friday.
There’s a lot going on in the life of Saad Awad lately. He’s got a new baby boy. A new camp. And a fight once again in his own back yard at Bellator 201 in Temecula, California this Friday. So while Awad may have been overlooked in the past, he’s finally getting some recognition, with a co-main event placement against Ryan Couture.
Awad spoke to the media ahead of Bellator 201 this Friday, and admitted that “it’s awesome” to be fighting at home once again. “As always, being at home is good. You don’t have to travel, your family gets to come. I’m right back on it, coming off of a win, same people, same people, same crowd, same results.”
Asked whether the rising lightweight, known for being somewhat reserved on the mic, might buck the trend and call someone out, he said that “I think I’ve put myself in a position where I don’t really need to call too many people out. I’ll do whatever Bellator tells me.”
“Even when I call people out, it doesn’t really go my way,” Awad said. “I think I am at the top of the division, so me calling anyone out is like calling out someone under me. I mean, no disrespect to the other fighters, but that’s how I kind of feel. So whoever is above me is who I’d like to fight. So I’ll have to talk to Bellator, see who they think is above me, and go from there.”
As far as feeling the love, meanwhile, Awad, who has felt overlooked in the past, said that “this time around, I definitely have [felt the love]. Everyone’s been good to me. Can’t complain.”
While Friday’s bout against Ryan Couture was scheduled at lightweight, the scrap eventually was switched to catchweight. Awad has competed at welterweight and various catchweights over the years — and other weight classes would definitely interest him. “I would definitely like a 160, 165 division. The weight cut’s not as hard as it was anymore,” he said. “I kind of got it down a lot better to 155, but I don’t mind fighting catchweight. Obviously I’ve even fought at 170. But if they did open a division at 60 or 65, I’d probably be first in line.”
Watch the full Bellator 201 pre-fight scrum with Saad Awad for his thoughts on opponent Ryan Couture, his famous father Randy, CBD oil and more. Bellator 201 airs live Friday with the main card kicking off at 9PM EST on the Paramount Network.
