"I feel the strongest and the fastest that I have felt. I've been able to wrestle and I've been able to do Jiu Jitsu and it's showing a lot in my training. So I'm excited to see how I perform in the fightÂ… He comes out blazing, I'm going to throw some bombs and he's going to sleep. If he comes out patient, I'm going to go out there and pick him apartÂ…I'm going to dominate this dude. I'm going to dominate him for 3 rounds, I'm going to bully him," stated Bellator lightweight Saad Awad, who talked about his upcoming clash tonight with Patricky Freire. Check it out!
PC: How has preparation been for your fight tonight against Patricky "Pitbull" Freire?
SA: It's going awesome. I couldn't have asked for a better camp.
PC: You are the co-main event on this card. Obviously Bellator believes in you and is willing to push you. How does it feel to have your company put you in these situations where you are on the big stage?
SA: It feels good. It feels really good to finally be here. I came from the main card and then the next thing you know, I was on the undercard and I think they noticed that I'm coming, so they realized they had to put me back up there.
PC: You've dealt with a few injuries recently. How do you feel physically heading into this fight?
SA: I've never really complained about injuries before, but all last year, I wasn't able to really wrestle or train in Jiu Jitsu because I had injuries I was dealing with. I had surgery last year, and this year too, and I can honestly say this is probably one of my best camps that I have ever had. I feel the strongest and the fastest that I have felt. I've been able to wrestle and I've been able to do Jiu Jitsu and it's showing a lot in my training. So I'm excited to see how I perform in the fight.
PC: You are now riding a 3-fight winning streak. What do you feel you did after the loss to Will Brooks in the rematch to turn things around and get back consistently winning?
SA: I didn't change my camp at all. I just took training a lot more serious. Before, I would go in the morning for 30 or 40 minutes, go home and rest, go back at night and train for an hour or maybe an hour and a half, and call it a day. I did that 3 times a week. Now, this morning I was at the gym at 9:40 and I didn't get home until about 1:30. I'm participating in multiple classes. I push myself really hard. And now I plan on going back to the gym for another 2 hours tonight. I do that every single day. I don't want to take days off. There are days where I feel like I can't move and I force myself to take a day or two off. But other than that, I'm pushing a lot more and doing a lot more.
PC: Did that loss to Brooks bring that change about or did you have that long look in the mirror and just know you wasn't giving it your all and the window of opportunity for success in MMA is very small?
SA: You know what? That loss woke me up and after that I was training a little bit harder. But then I got engaged and I got married and now I realize it's not about me anymore. I'm trying to start a family. Wifey wants a house. I live in an apartment. I want to get out of this apartment, man. She wants a new car. And she does work, but I gotta be a man and get those things for her. I'm in a career where I can make money if I'm not lazy, make a lot of money; it's just a matter of changing my ways.
PC: I'm sure you have gotten very familiar with "Pitbull" watching him fight over the years. What type of fight are you expecting from him? Fast paced sprint or a patient methodical chess match?
SA: You know, I'm not sure, man. He's either going to jump the gun and try to take my head off in the 1st round like he does some guys, or he's going to try and be patient and try and counterpunch me like he has done to other guys. He does both of those styles where he will come out guns blazing and swinging for the fences and then he has a style where he waits and waits and tries to counterpunch you. I'm ready for both. He comes out blazing, I'm going to throw some bombs and he's going to sleep. If he comes out patient, I'm going to go out there and pick him apart.
PC: You have shown versatility in your game. Obviously his striking is his strength. Do you feel this has to be one of your balanced attacks or do you feel like you could have success in one form or another?
SA: Yeah, I do think I need to be balanced in this fight. I can't go out there and be reckless. He is a good counterpuncher. If you go out there and throw 2 to 3 punches, he fires back always. So he will let you get off a couple of punches, but you have to expect something right back. I just can't get lazy in this fight. I have to move around pretty good and use all of my tools.
PC: I know you can't base your career off of one win, but you do hold a knockout win over the current champion Will Brooks and you are the only person that was able to put a blemish on his record. Is that a confidence booster moving forward or did you have to put that behind you?
SA: At first it was in my head. I was like, "Man, I was the only guy to do that and blah, blah, blah," and then I started realizing after I lost to him in the rematch that he beat me last, so it doesn't matter if I beat him. He didn't just beat me; he beat me for 3 rounds. He wrestled me for 3 rounds and it was boring, but he still got the W, so it wipes the slate clean. It just gives me a reason to train harder. We are 1-1 is how I look at it.
PC: Do you feel a win over Patricky warrants you a title shot or are you just taking fights as they come to you?
SA: I don't know. I just want to stay busy. If they give me the fight soon, I'll be happy to take it, but if they offer me the fight in 5 or 6 months, I'm going to have to get something in between. I'm not going to sit and wait. I turn 32 this year. I'm not getting any younger, so I'm trying to fight as much as I can and make as much money as I can.
PC: You hinted at wanting Bellator to do a tournament with the lightweights like they are doing with the light heavyweights. Would you want to fight twice in one night or have a tournament that plays out over the course of a month or so?
SA: Ah man, I'm down for either or. If they do a 4-man tournament and you fight twice in one night, sign me up. I'll be more than happy to fight in that. If they do a tournament where you fight once and then you fight again in the next month, shit, I'll sign up for that one too. Anything that's going to keep me busy right now, man, I want to d o it. I've had my time where I was off and my time where I was off because of injury and you sit there and watch other people fight and make money. I don't get paid unless I fight, so I'm down for either or because I know it's going to keep me busy.
PC: You obviously feel better as a fighter when you are busy.
SA: Yeah, most definitely, because it doesn't give me time to slack. When I have fights lined up, I stay in the gym. Even when I don't have anything lined up, I show up at the gym quite often, but when we have a fight lined up, we don't stop training. I don't really take too many days off.
PC: What can fans expect from you tonight?
SA: Domination, straight up. I'm going to dominate this dude. I'm going to dominate him for 3 rounds, I'm going to bully him.
PC: I wish you the best of luck. Thanks for your time. Is there anything else you would like to add before I let you go?
SA: Nah man, just thank you for the support and thank you for having me on. Expect a great show. If you haven't seen me fight, make sure you tune in because I'm going to go out there and put on a show.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]