Danny Sabatello was shocked when he was left out of the Bellator bantamweight grand prix.
Sabatello is 1-0 in Bellator with a dominant decision win over Brett Johns, but he still thinks he hasn’t gotten the respect he deserves. Due to recent injuries, Sabatello has to face Jornel Lugo on Friday at Bellator 278 to earn his way into the grand prix.
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“I have that win over Brett Johns who was very good in the UFC, so I thought with that win I would get into the tournament,” Sabatello said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “Especially when there were p*****s in the tournament like James Gallagher. I know he brings eyeballs but I deserved to be in it, it is what it is and now I’m in it and he’s not so everything worked out.”
In order for Sabatello to truly need to be part of the grand prix, he will need to beat Jornel Lugo in a wild card bout. If he wins, he would face Leandro Higo in the first round of the grand prix and he expects to walk through Lugo on Friday.
Sabatello doesn’t think Lugo is good at all and he expects to dominate him from start to finish and mentally break him.
“I think he just sucks, his resume is not very good. I actually thought he was going to lose to Brian Moore but it turns out Brian Moore isn’t very good,” Sabatello said. “Honestly, I don’t think highly of Jornel Lugo, I don’t think he has a good skill set and that’s a guy I think I can break. If I keep the pace high I will mentally break him. I’m very excited to break this guy because I really don’t like Jornel Lugo.”
Not only does Danny Sabatello expect to beat Jornel Lugo with ease, but he expects to run through the entire grand prix field as well. He knows his wrestling is too good for everyone and he thinks that will be the difference-maker in him winning the grand prix.
Should Sabatello do as he says, he would become the interim Bellator bantamweight champion and would win one million dollars. Yet, he says the main goal is not the money, but becoming the champ and proving everyone wrong.
“Absolutely, I’m not going to sit here and stay the money isn’t nice but it is all about the fight. I’d rather be a champion than win a million dollars, there are a lot of millionaires out there, but there aren’t many world champions in MMA,” Sabatello concluded. “The goal is to be the best fighter on this planet and if I get a million dollars in the process, that is awesome. Right now, I’m focused on being the baddest dude and beating the s**t out of all these guys.”
Do you think Danny Sabatello will beat Jornel Lugo at Bellator 278?