Derek Campos was originally lined up to fight Roger Huerta this weekend at Bellator 246. Clearly, that’s not what wound up happening, as he’s now been matched up with the 8-0 Keoni Diggs.
“I’m not too sure what happened. My manager called me and said Roger was out of the fight, unfortunately,” Campos (20-10) explained during the event’s media day earlier this week.
“The offer on the table was to fight Keoni Diggs. He’s a game opponent, I’m not one to shy away from a fight.” So Campos signed the contract, and moved on.
Diggs might be undefeated, but he’s been flying under the radar thus far. Luckily, Campos has been able to amass enough footage on his new opponent to break Diggs down.
“I’ve been able to take a look at some of his fight footage, study him, and make the adjustments where I needed to make them for my training,” said Campos. “I’ve got a game plan going into this fight. At the end of the night, I’m going to do what I’ve got to do to win.”
There’s no question, however, that a fight with Diggs wasn’t what he had in mind for his first fight of 2020. Huerta had a distinctly higher profile, after all. And Campos, at lightweight after being bounced from the featherweight grand prix, wants to make a splash.
“I do want to get the next fight booked with somebody, say, of higher caliber. I’m looking at guys like Myles Jury, Benson Henderson, I wouldn’t mind fighting Georgi Karakhanyan,” admitted Campos. “Guys like that.”
First, acknowledged Campos, “I have to take care of business here against Keoni.”
Bellator 246 takes place this Saturday, September 12 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. The event airs live on Paramount Network.
