Barzola with his sights set on the semifinals
Barzola (18-5) faces Russian Magomed Magomedov (18-2) in the quarterfinals of the Bantamweight Grand Prix at Bellator 282 this Friday, June 24, and although he arrived as a dark horse to the competition, his wrestling, progression in stand-up and great physical condition he showed, make him a real threat.
The Peruvian moved to San Jose, California, where he trains at the American Kickboxing Academy, a team with a tradition of champions like Daniel Cormier, Luke Rockhold, Cain Velasquez and, of course, Khabib Nurmagomedov and his group of protégés.
“Actually I spar with Team Khabib, with Umar Nurmagomedov, who is one of the top 135-pounders in UFC, I spar with Tagir (Ulanbekov) and I really feel ready for this fight. I’m ready to beat him in any area that may present itself, with Javier Mendez and my coach Ron Keslar,” explained Barzola.
Mexican coach Mendez considers him a true favorite to win the title, although he respects the opponents who are still in contention such as Patchy Mix and Raufeon Stots. However, they know Magomedov and know that Barzola is going through a better moment.
“Maybe he hasn’t fought bigger people than him, but I feel strong for this division. When he wants to take me to the ground, wants to make the game body to body, he’s going to see my strength, he’s going to see my stamina and he’s going to feel it in my heart rate, because fighters when we are in contact you realize how the opponent is breathing,” said Barzola, 33, who came to fight in UFC up to 155 pounds, before dropping to featherweight and later to bantamweight.
“Me in this fight I’m going to impose all the pressure I can and I’m going to try to finish him in the third round, although I’m ready to go five rounds,” he added.
The experience of a long career has led him to learn how to handle tournaments; in Brazil he made a mistake in a one-night Grand Prix, but years later he took that learning to the second edition of The Ultimate Fighter Latin America, where he beat Mexico’s Horacio Gutierrez in the final.
“I beat a Brazilian and I was already thinking about the final, I underestimated another Brazilian opponent, Fernando Bruno, he was very strong, he made it all the way to the TUF Final [later]. I underestimated him because I was thinking about the final and I didn’t respect my opponent’s game. In the second tournament where I competed, which was The Ultimate Fighter, I focused on each camp in each opponent and that’s why I became champion. Now I come to this [tournament] with a lot of experience, with a lot of trajectory. I’m one hundred percent focused on Magomed, I’m not thinking about the next opponent,” confessed the South American.
Finally, Barzola made a parenthesis to talk about an issue that affects his teammates: the arrest of Velasquez, who is in prison, accused of several charges, among them the attempted murder of the alleged sexual aggressor of a minor member of the former champion’s family.
“It impacts our team a lot, because he was already focused on being a head coach of fighters, he even went to Moggly Benitez’s corner and was focused, and really all the fighters were motivated to train with a former champion like Cain. When this happened with his family it really affected us as a team. We’ve really been there when he shows up in court, even if it’s outside to support him. From here we support him, in networks, with banners in court and at all times,” he shared.
Bellator 282 also includes the other pending quarterfinal bout between Leandro Higo and Danny Sabatello to define the two remaining semifinalists. The card at the Mohegan Sun arena in Uncasville, Conn. features champion Gegard Mousasi’s middleweight belt defense against Johnny Eblen.
