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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Matthew Wells and Matt Erickson

Bellator 276: Exciting finisher Jay Jay Wilson explains why lightweight will likely be new home

After a pair of previous fight bookings fell apart, New Zealand’s Jay Jay Wilson is excited to fight again for a few reasons.

At Bellator 276, Wilson (8-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) will return to action to face Gadzhi Rabadanov (16-4-2 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) in the first lightweight bout of his career. The move could very well be a permanent one for the undefeated fighter, who has enjoyed the camp leading into this fight without having to worry about the number on the scale.

“This week has definitely not been as rough,” Wilson told MMA Junkie and other reporters at Thursday’s media day. “Usually by this time I’m pretty dead, but I still got energy, you know? I was hitting pads. I’ve only got about five more pounds to cut, so it’s going to be an easy, easy weight cut.”

In what would have been Wilson’s second fight of 2021, he was scheduled to face Adam Borics in the co-main event of Bellator 265. However, he missed weight and the fight was canceled after refusing the “ridiculous deal” Borics proposed that he says would have left him fighting for free.

This time around, everything appears in place, as Wilson enters his first fight of 2022. The exciting finisher has stopped six of his seven Bellator opponents, four of which were bouts that did not make it out of the first round.

Check out Wilson’s full media day interview in the video above.

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