Phoenix, AZ — LFA lightweight champion Nick Browne made his debut for Bellator MMA on Saturday, picking up a heel hook submission win over Bobby Lee in the opening round of their preliminary card fight.
As first impressions go, you couldn’t ask for much better. And while the end came via submission at Bellator 268, Browne (12-1) had expected more of a standup battle. “I wanted to test his standup. I thought he was a little lacking in the standup, and we really wanted to push that to control the ring, either put him in a position to take a crappy shot, or I could get him against the cage, eventually take him down,” Browne told media outlets including Cageside Press following the fight. “The plan worked out pretty well.”
Browne has gone on record to state that the fight against Lee was the biggest of his career. That might come as a surprise to some, given he was coming off a title fight win in LFA.
Explaining that sentiment backstage at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Browne noted that “every fight before that was a stepping stone to get here.”
“Nothing to take away from my last, LFA, world lightweight champ. I’d venture to say he’d fought more tougher guys than Bobby Lee did,” continued Browne. “But just the intensity of Bobby Lee was a good test. And coming here, putting on a good show for Bellator is all we could have really asked.”
Watch the full Bellator 268 post-fight press conference with Nick Browne above. More coverage from the event can be found below.
-
Vadim Nemkov
-
Scott Coker
-
Corey Anderson
-
Brent Primus
-
Karl Albrektsson
-
Mukhamed Burkhamov
