Paris, France – Making the middleweight walk at Bellator 296 former welterweight champion Douglas Lima is still open to taking on anyone, anywhere, but first he takes on Costello van Steenis.
“I never say no. I needed a fight, they gave me him, I said yes. His game, he’s very explosive, he’s hungry,” Lima told reporters including Cageside Press on Wendesday.
“He’s a guy that wants to make his name in the division, in this promotion, just another tough hungry fighter.”
Lima (32-11) has been known to chop opponents down with kicks, but so does his opponent, and many almost hope to see a kick-off of sorts in Paris.
“You never know until the fight starts. If I see it, I’m throwing, I know he’s going to throw the same thing. He throws a lot of kicks, a lot of punches, so it’s definitely a fight that should be very explosive,” he said.
“Let’s see how it’s going to go down. I’m ready to throw down so let’s see.”
Even though he gets a ranked opponent at Bellator 296, Lima doesn’t treat this fight any differently. If you thought Lima would sit in the film room for hours preparing you’d be wrong.
“I (watched) a few fights. I’m not a guy that studies a lot of my opponents. I don’t like to keep watching a lot of videos on them when I fight them,” Lima said.
“But I’m a little bit familiar with him. He’s very aggressive, he’s powerful, a big guy. The coaches studied him more. It’s just another great tough, hungry opponent. There’s no easy fights.”
Watch the entire media day scrum with Douglas Lima above. He takes on Costello van Steenis at Bellator 296.
