Saad Awad first fought for Bellator at Bellator 10, and after some time away, has consistently fought for the promotion since 2013. Yet he’s flown under the radar — something her purposely set out to correct at Bellator 201.
Bellator’s Saad Awad had a big finish of Ryan Couture at Bellator 201. Though contested at a catchweight (due to Couture being out of action for over a year), the win should set Awad up for a big fight in the lightweight division. He called for a title shot after the victory in the post-fight interview while still in the cage, but recognizes the reality that Michael Chandler may be ahead of him.
Chandler, however, is testing free agency waters. His status is currently up in the air. Awad spoke about what it’ll take to get the shot, and how he felt against Couture on Friday, back stage following the event.
“I felt like I was a little bit heavy footed. I think it was because I was looking for the knockout,” Awad said. “I told myself I had to get a nice knockout to make a statement for a title fight. I kind of got that stuck in my head, so I didn’t have as much movement as I would like to have had, but I got it done.”
That title fight is now the goal for the normally soft spoken Awad, who was amped up following the win. In fact, Awad was probably more vocal post-Bellator 201 than he ever has been.
“I don’t know what else I can do,” he said of making a case for the title shot, Chandler’s status not withstanding. He admitted that in the past, when he’d run up a winning streak, decisions may have hurt him. “I think three of them or two of them were decisions, and they [Bellator] were kind of like ‘ahh, kind of boring,'” he said. “And they don’t tell me that directly, that’s what I kind of hear. So I put it in my head that I’d get some knockouts. I think out of my last four fights, I got two knockouts, two decisions. I’m going in, trying to make statements. I don’t know how else to put pressure on them.”
Make a statement he did at Bellator 201. What remains to be seen is where it puts him in the mix for the belt. That is something that likely won’t be settled until Chandler’s future is determined.
Watch the full Bellator 201 post-fight press scrum with Saad Awad above!
