Danny Sabatello Thinks Jornel Lugo Sucks, Wants To See Him Bleed At Bellator 278

Danny Sabatello thinks his upcoming opponent, Jornel Lugo, sucks.

Sabatello (11-1) finally returns to action after his very impressive Bellator debut. The “Italian Gangster” dominated UFC veteran Brett Johns to win a unanimous decision on five days’ notice.

Many people thought that he would land inside of the top 10 bantamweight rankings the next week with such a dominant performance. It never happened, and Sabatello was pissed. While he soon got over it, another slight followed. When Bellator announced the pending Bantamweight World Grand Prix and he didn’t get a spot, Sabatello was very upset.

“Yeah, I was f*cking pissed. I was really upset about it,” Sabatello told Cageside Press. “Just mainly because you got guys in the tournament named James Gallagher, who absolutely f*cking sucks. You know, I understand the draw with him; he has a lot of followers because he’s a wannabe McGregor, and he has those Ireland pushes behind him. But you know what, that’s not what this sport is about. This sport is about who’s the best fighter, and I am the best fighter.”

If you know one thing about Sabatello, he never minces his words about anything or anybody. It is just who he is. That includes his upcoming opponent.

When injuries forced Sergio Pettis and Gallager out of the upcoming tournament, Sabatello got the call. Sabatello faces undefeated prospect Jornel Lugo (8-0) in the first round of the Grand Prix at Bellator 278 in Hawaii.

Sabatello is not impressed with Lugo. He wants to see him bleed when they fight later this month.

“I think he sucks.”

“I think he sucks,” Sabatello told us. “I watched his last fight against Brian Moore in Ireland, and I saw nothing really. He’s a stand-up guy mainly; he likes to point fight and doesn’t have too much power behind his hands. [He’s got] a stiff jab, quick jab, and is southpaw, so a little bit tricky, but nothing that I can’t handle.”

“I see myself absolutely dominating him from the start of the fight till the end of the fight. I don’t necessarily want to get in there and finish him in the first round. I kind of want to torture him just because he’s been talking a little bit of trash as well. And yeah, I kind of just want to make him suffer. I will get the finish in maybe either the second or third round. But I just want to pummel him a little bit. First, I want to see him bleed; I want to see his blood on the canvas. And then we’re just gonna go from there. I don’t think on the feet or on the ground, he poses too much of a threat to me.”

Watch the rest of our interview with Danny Sabatello above. Sabatello vs. Lugo goes down at Bellator 278 on April 22 in Hawaii.