Los Angeles, CA — While nothing was officially announced ahead of the fight, Juan Archuleta vs. Henry Corrales at Bellator 238 felt like it could serve as a grand prix alternate bout.
Each man had been eliminated in the opening round of Bellator’s featherweight grand prix. Corrales was dispatched by Darrion Caldwell, while Archuleta exited after a title bid against Patricio Pitbull.
Speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press after earning a unanimous decision win over Corrales, Archuleta let slip that an alternate spot was exactly what he was looking for. “That was the thing, taking this fight with Henry was securing my alternate spot in the tournament,” he said. “I knew that the winner out of this one— me and him could have fought Pitbull, either or.”
“That was first and foremost. Making sure I secured my alternate spot in the featherweight grand prix,” he continued. “Now going forward, it’s all comers are welcome.”
While nothing was officially announced, Archuleta seems like a solid choice to step back into the tournament if required. That said, his fight against Corrales wasn’t the action-fest many expected. Archuleta addressed that by saying “I want to go out there and cause chaos, cause ruckus, but I just came off a world title loss, honestly. I have to put that behind me, and start the baby steps going forward again.”
“A guy like Henry, he hit me on the spot, and it dropped me,” he explained. “He hit me harder than Pitbull, and I feel like I took Pitbull’s hardest hit. And I think Corrales hits a lot harder. Look at when he missed, he went flying into the third row.”
How much damage did Corrales do? “He hits hard, and I was hurt. I’m not going to lie.”
But while “he rocked me,” Archuleta also knew he had to stick to the game plan. “It’s our future and our babies that we’re providing for.”
Watch the full Bellator 238 post-fight press conference with Juan Archuleta above!
