(Lyman Good in action against Jorge Ortiz. Props to MMAFrenzy.)
Lyman Good has every right to be frustrated about Bellator Fighting Championship’s decision to axe its fall season in favor of a 2010 return. But instead Good is looking for positives.
“Things happen for a reason, but the good thing about it is…they allow for us to fight in other organizations so it would have been a big let down had that not been the case,” said Good. “They allow us to fight—it’s not a problem. We can stay busy and stay active, fight in other places or do other things in the meantime.”
But Good isn’t fighting. The fledgling promotion set out to find a place for their champions to compete in the interim but the welterweight titlist is the only one of the organization’s four inaugural champions who has had a fight scheduled in the interim.
Featherweight champion Joe Soto defeating Mike Christensen via gogoplata at Tachi Palace Fights “Most Wanted” on Oct. 8, lightweight belt holder Eddie Alvarez is slated to face Katsunori Kikuno at Dream 12 on Oct. 25 and middleweight champion Hector Lombard is expected to face Kalib Starnes at Cage Fighting Championships on Nov. 20 in Sydney, Australia, Good does not feel left out of the shuffle.
“Everybody takes their routes and paths to continue their line and their career and I know mine,” said the IFL veteran. “I’m just gonnna follow that and not get sidetracked with what others are doing.”
The New Yorker suspects he’ll fight within the next two months and trusts his management to dictate the fate of his fight career. However, he points out he’s not thinking about securing a fight at the moment. He’s focused on training and teaching five classes a day at the gym owned by his trainer, Tiger Schulmann’s in Manhattan.
Bellator CEO Bjorn Rebney told mmaweekly.com that he believed champions would fight in non-title bouts at higher weight classes. Good, a former middleweight, prefers to fight at 170-pounds because it keeps him sharp; however, he “would probably fight” at 185-pounds. Being in a non-title fight and the prospect of losing the contest is not something Good welcomes so readily.
“It does take away from the validation of you being a champion, I would say, because there’s no title on the line and you go out there and fight,” said the 24-year-old from Spanish Harlem. “I don’t think you fight with the same level of tenacity as you would with a belt on the line.”
Good would like to fight for Strikeforce while he awaits Bellator’s return or something of equal caliber. Title or not, he wants a fighter who will test his skills and further his profile in the sport.
“I know I still got a lot of training and a lot of preparation up ahead of me and a lot of room for growth,” said the former World Combat League fighter. “But in time, as I’m prepared, I would definitely want to fight anyone who would bring me up that totem pole and get me more recognition and make me a better fighter.”
After competing three times in three months to win Bellator’s tournament earlier in 2009, Good promises his momentum will continue despite not having a fight in sight or the unforeseen layoff.
“I’m not taking this time to just regress and kinda enjoy the leisures and spoils of anything because I would never let that happen and I wouldn’t wanna disappoint anybody,” he said. “I wanna go out there and become that much of a better fight and continue to grow and not disappoint anyone—win or lose.”
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