Bellator 280: Soren Bak Plans to Get Charlie Leary Down, “Put On A World of Hurt”

A short-notice change of opponent has resulted in lightweight Soren Bak’s fight being moved to a catchweight at Bellator 280. But the good news is, he still has a fight.

“It’s always unfortunate to have an opponent drop out late in the preparation process,” Bak admitted during this week’s Bellator 280 media day, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press. “That’s kind of a thing we do a lot about, trying to prepare specifically for each fighter’s base.”

Still, he has a fight, and that’s what matters. Bak got the call about two weeks or so out from the fight, with the promotion telling him Saul Rogers was out. “Pretty much right away we started working on a replacement fight. Charlie Leary came up really quickly.”

And so now it’s on to Leary, who is well known to Bellator’s European fanbase, and who, like Bak himself, previously fought for Cage Warriors. Bak would later discuss the changes made for Learly, and reiterated his frustration with an opponent falling out.

“Of course a catchwieght is never nice. I’ve been preparing for over three months for Saul Rogers and going specifically to 155. Like I said, it’s never nice to have an opponent drop out when you specifically work towards that goal,” said Bak. “That said, we didn’t do too many specific changes. Of course some things, because Charlie is a taller guy, and strengths and weaknesses are different than Saul’s, but really when we develop our game plans, it’s more a question of pushing the fight where I’ve got the advantage.”

The biggest difference Bak sees, aside from Leary’s length, “would be I think Charlie’s actually a mentally tougher fighter than Saul is.”

And while Leary has some knockout power, “We’re prepared for anything and everything,” Bak stated. “Some of the tweaks we did were kind of prepared specifically for the kind of combinations Charlie likes to throw. I’m going to be ready for that, and he’s not going to get me knocked out. I’m going to get him down on the ground and put on a world of hurt.”

Soren Bak faces Charlie Leary at Bellator 280 in Paris, France, this Friday, May 6, 2022, on Showtime. Watch the rest of Bak’s media day interview above. More coverage can be found below.