Following what many saw as a clear-cut win for Cris “Sunshine” Lencioni at Bellator 289, fans in attendance at the Mohegan Sun Arena voiced their displeasure with the outcome.
Picking up a split decision win over Cody Law, Lencioni (10-3) was heckled and jeered despite doing enough to get the nod on two scorecards — not to mention, for all it’s worth, on the scorecards of many commenting online.
So it was no surprise to hear Lencioni, always good for a one-liner, liken MMA fans to ex-girlfriends post-fight, in a bit of an un-PC moment — one of several during his post-fight interview backstage at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.
When the boo-birds were brought up with Lencioni, he noted that “they hated him too! They were booing him when he was on top of me. They just don’t know what they want.”
“The crowd is like an ex-girlfriend. They want you, they don’t want you. You kind of want them, and then you remember how much of a headache they are, you’re like ‘oh God, not that again.’ Maybe it’s two in the morning and you’re like ‘umm’ — no! That’s right, no!”
Lenioni later made sure to offer a quick apology to his wife.
Sorry wife lol https://t.co/F8IYhUuERV
— Cristopher Lencioni (@CrisSunshineMMA) December 10, 2022
Overall, Cris Lencioni now sits on a three-fight win streak. He’s also won four straight under the Bellator MMA banner, having competed for the promotion off and on since 2017. Ahead of his fight with Law, Lencioni had built up his opponent in his mind.
“A lot of anticipation, a lot of fears and thoughts going into it, then getting in there, and just getting the biggest blue balls of all,” is how he put it. That, shall we say, colorful comment came about because of “all these highlights of him knocking dudes out, throwing dudes around, and just wrapping them up, and I get in there and just instantly drop him. He doesn’t land a single shot on me clean, in the entire fight, on the feet or on the ground. How even one judge saw any round for him is insane. Asinine.”
Lencioni believes it “should have been a clean sweep,” as far as the scorecards go. “There shouldn’t even be a ‘split’ next to my name.'”
For his next outing, “Sunshine” is hoping to head to the sunny state of Hawaii, to face another Bellator 289 winner.
“I actually really liked watching that Kai Kamaka guy. I want to throw down with him in Hawaii in April. I have respect, Mahalo baby, one love, I dunno. I don’t speak native Hawaiian, but I would love to fight that guy in April.”
