Bellator 266’s Ben Parrish: “If I Can Do This, Anybody Can Do This”

If there was a breakout star at Bellator 266, it was Ben Parrish.

Parrish (5-1) was a massive underdog heading into his fight with undefeated Jackson-Wink light heavyweight Christian Edwards. On paper, the fight was a mismatch, even with Parrish holding just one career loss due to a broken leg. Edwards had the pedigree; Parrish was the everyman.

In the end, he proved that on any given night, any man can win a fight. And he had a message for those watching at home.

“I work a job still, man. Raise a kid. If I can do this, anybody can do this, man,” Parrish exclaimed after the fight, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press. “Anybody watching at home, if people are trying to make out like you can never hang doing this— like I said, for ten years I’ve been hearing the same exact conversations, the same exact talks, and all you’ve got to do is get out, walk the walk, bite down on your mouth guard. Nobody’s going to be mad at you for losing. Nobody ever remembers the loser, if you remember correctly. Because it’s easy to forget: you’re looking forward to the winner’s next move.”

Case in point, fallen foe Edwards. “Christian Edwards will bounce back way better than this. He’s 22 years old, he’s got the whole world in front of him,” observed Parrish. “I know how much money he makes, too, so he’s sitting good. I pray he’s okay.”

The knockout win for Parrish was thunderous, and saved a career on the brink of ending after three bookings with Edwards fell through, starting all the way back in 2019. Had this fight been scratched as well, Parrish was ready to close up shop.

“I wouldn’t have fought again. It’s hard, it’s really hard physically, mentally, emotionally. I’ve lost relationships, friendships, you name it man. Jobs, I’ve lost everything for this,” he explained. “It feels good. I’m just living my dream, man. What are you guys doing at home if you’re not trying to live your dream? The only thing left for me to do is win a world title. That’d be the only thing I want to do. Anything else after this is, how many decimals to the right side of the comma.”

While plenty of trolls went after Parrish on social media prior to the fight — he even openly admits to being a bit of a troll himself, and feeding off that energy — Parrish also agreed that Edwards might have been overlooking him.

“Yeah. I think so. He was nervous but relaxed at the same time, and I’ve been there,” said Parrish. “I’ve been undefeated two different times, as an amateur and as a pro. People gassing you up, and you’re just kind of like ‘yeah I’m the best, whatever’ but you’re also, in the back of your mind, like ‘what is this guy really made of?’ And I think I got that point across.”

What the full Bellator 266 post-fight press conference with Ben Parrish above. More post-fight coverage can be found below!