San Jose, CA – A confusing ending to what many believed was the best matchup on Friday’s Bellator 292 card didn’t take away from lightweight Alexandr Shabliy’s victory over Tofiq Musayev.
“Well I realized that something serious happened. I didn’t know exactly what happened. I don’t know if you noticed earlier in the fight when we were scrambling I kicked him with a knee in the cage. So I didn’t know whether that was an aftereffect of that. Once I kicked him in the leg then I realized I punctured him,” Shabliy told reporters through a translator at his post-fight scrum.
Shabliy went on to say that he wanted to tell the judges that he didn’t kick him in the groin, but his team told him to calm down and wait to see what happens.
“You see the outcome now,” he said.
Advancing to the next round of the Bellator lightweight grand prix with no date set for his second round matchup the lightweight said he wasn’t going to sit around too long.
“I definitely know it’s going to be a busy year so I’m not planning to rest too much. Maybe I’m going to go home, stay there for a week or so see family, but yeah we’re going to wait for the next announcement (on) who’s going to be the next opponent. Then we’re going to start training right away because I don’t want to waste any time,” said Shabliy.
Asked whether he has a preferred opponent in mind Shabliy said, “I don’t have really (a) preference as I said. I want one and then give me the other one right after. I train with American Top Team. We have top guys so I’ve seen it all.”
“Either one is worthy.”
The fight with Mosayev was very technical for as long as it lasted, but Shabliy said he had got touched more in training that he did in the fight.
“Preparing and training for this fight I had more punches to my head than I had within this fight,” he said.
Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Alexandr Shabliy above.
