After submission after submission after submission, Gregory Babene scored his first knockout victory since 2010 at Bellator 280 on Friday.
The French middleweight put away Mike Shipman, his seventh consecutive win. The six prior? All submissions. The Paris fight was Babene’s first for Bellator MMA since 2017, and he certainly made it a memorable one.
“I’m very proud to [get] a KO tonight after a lot of submissions,” Babene (22-11) told Cageside Press following the fight, at the AccorHotels Arena. “I was sure to win tonight. I viewed myself winning, even if the bookmakers bet the opposite way, and bet on my defeat, I was sure of myself here tonight.”
The most recent in a string of successes, Babene, pushing 40, remains as motivated as ever. “I was very galvanized and motivated for this fight. I’m 38 years old, and I’ve got 20 years of career. Even if I’m in front of someone that has 10 years [behind them], I can go for it, and I’m very motivated for it.”
As to what’s next for the French fighter, he isn’t sure, coming off yet another big win. “I don’t have any names, we’ll see what happens in the future.”
Watch the full Bellator 280 post-fight press conference with Gregory Babene above. More coverage from the event can be found below.
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Scott Coker
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Lorenz Larkin
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Ryan Bader
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Yoel Romero
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Davy Gallon
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Gregory Babene
