This coming Saturday Irish fighter Brian Moore will return to the 145lb division as he takes on formidable Brazilian, Otto Rodrigues.
Moore’s Bellator tenure has consisted of him chopping and changing between divisions, however so far, he hasn’t been able to maximise his potential by doing so. The move back up to featherweight comes off the back of being victorious in his last two fights which were contested at bantamweight.
At Bellator 299 media day, Moore explained that whilst he walks around at 170lbs, it isn’t a good idea for him to fight at 135lbs. “I walk around at 170lbs, so getting to bantamweight is a struggle so I just feel like the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze in the sense of my performances and how I felt.
“We’ve seen everything develop from the grappling and striking perspective to the conditioning, you name it we’ve more than ticked the box.” Moore said.
That isn’t the only motivation driving him through this fight on home soil though. His opponent, Otto Rodrigues, is currently on a 12 fight win streak, and hasn’t lost since 2008. This will mark the Brazilian’s Bellator debut after coming over to the promotion from LFA. Snapping that win streak is something Moore is ‘motivated’ to do.
“He’s a good fighter, he’s someone that excites me. When you’re a mixed martial artist you want to fight at the highest level and fight the best guys. This guy is on a 12 fight win streak, the motivation is to snap that win streak. He’s good but I’m better and I’m going to show that.”
Check out the full media day with Brian Moore above.
