Bellator 259 has a fellow New Englander on the card, after her teammate Johnny “Cupcakes” Campbell made his debut finishing Henry Corrales at Bellator 258. Kristina Katsikis steps in to fight the much-hyped Sumiko Inaba at the event. Just like “Cupcakes,” she will be riding the underdog train into the cage, but that doesn’t bother her.
“She’s got a lot of hype around her name,” Katsikis began. “My expectation is to go into there and give it everything. Put a lot of work into this one. It is a lot of pressure but it is less pressure being an underdog, I’m looking for a big upset.”
The 1-1 Cage Titans veteran is not taking this Bellator opportunity for granted. She explained how different fight week has been for her, especially seeing as her usual “fight week” is a drive down to the Plymouth Mass Cage Titans spot. Katsikis thanks Johnny Campbell for helping her to the big stage of Bellator MMA.
“I would love to make this home,” Katsikis stated. “This is a great promotion, hopefully I can impress and call this place home. This is really big, the cage is even bigger. It is great having my teammate Johnny Campbell in my corner, who just did this all two weeks ago. Campbell started me in MMA, I became obsessed because of him.”
Katsikis believes her main path to victory is finding the finish against undefeated Inaba. Katsikis is hopeful, and confident, that she can find it on fight night.
“I’m looking for the finish, I can finish her.”
Bellator 259 takes place this Friday, May 21 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. The main card airs live on Showtime following prelims that can be viewed right here on Cageside Press.
