Bellator 273: Sullivan Cauley “Just Getting This Started”

Phoenix, AZ — Improving to 3-0 in the opening bout of Bellator 273 on Saturday night at the Footprint Center in Phoenix was Sullivan Cauley.

The hometown hero went up against Ben “Big Tuna” Parrish, and was able to use his wrestling to keep the fight in his wheelhouse, dominating en route to a TKO win towards the end of the first.

Following the bout, Cauley, a teammate of heavyweight champ Ryan Bader, told media outlets that fighting at home was an awesome feeling. “I’m just getting this started, I’m just trying to build a following. Obviously this is where my following’s the biggest. So it feels really good to feel that energy behind me, feel like a real pro fighter with fans.”

Cauley is a real pro fighter of course, one who has all three of his professional wins inside the Bellator cage. “Big Tuna,” however, has been the biggest fish Cauley has landed thus far. And unlike some naysayers, Cauley refused to judge a book by it’s cover.

Showing his respect for Parrish after the fight, Cauley later explained that “I think just because of the way he looks, people assume he can’t fight. That wasn’t me, I knew he was a gamer. Like he said before, this sport’s not bodybuilding. You can’t just eye up a guy, see muscles, and assume he can fight or vice versa.”

With win #3 under his belt, the light heavyweight is no doubt eager to keep the ball rolling. In terms of a return, Cauley, who noted that he’s healthy following the fight, said he’ll be back “as soon as Bellator will have me. I like to take a week off and just decompress after my fights, and then we’ll start seeing when they want to have me again.”

Watch the full Bellator 273 post-fight press scrum with Sullivan Cauley above. More coverage from the event can be found below.