Davion Franklin wanted to redeem himself after his last fight, and he believes he did just that at Bellator 295.
Franklin (6-1), a rising heavyweight prospect, was caught in a submission against Marcelo Golm in his last fight. And he admits that the first loss of his career messed with his head.
“It was a little weird to me, because I’m not going to lie, my last fight I was extremely confident,” Franklin told media outlets including Cageside Press following his win over Kasim Aras on Saturday. “So for me to lose a fight that I was extremely confident in, it kind of messed with my mental a bit to be honest with you.”
As for how he handled the loss, “I just kept telling myself ‘just don’t underestimate anybody anymore. Everybody in this game in this game has a chance.” Franklin also knows that he has the potential to be great, “but I’m not quite great yet. So I’ve got to put in the work to be the person that I really want to be.”
A low blow in Saturday’s fight by Aras looked nasty, but Franklin doesn’t believe it was anything but accidental. “I didn’t think he meant it, honestly. I just think it just happened.” Luckily, the foul didn’t take too much out of Franklin. “No, it didn’t. The shock factor, yeah, but then when I realized, it’s okay, it wasn’t too bad.”
Back in the win column, Davion Franklin has a list of names he’s interested in, from Daniel James to Tim Johnson. And, of course, Marcelo Golm, who served up his first loss.
“All y’all heavyweights, I’m on your ass bro. Y’all don’t want this as bad as me. I guarantee you, if I see any of y’all in the future, y’all know what’s up. Y’all know I’m coming. Off with all y’all heads. I swear. I’m crushing all of you, that’s facts.”
Watch the full Bellator 295 post-fight press conference with Davion Franklin above.
