Sam Sicilia Wasn’t Happy With Final UFC Fights, Has Found New Process With Bellator

– Sam Sicilia spoke with MMAjunkie ahead of his fight with Marcos Galvao at Bellator 189 on Friday. Highlights are below:

On the losing streak that marked the end of his UFC run: “Every fighter is their own worst critic, but you take a step back and do your best and look at things you can improve on, and you add that to your game. I’ve had losses where I’m like, ‘You know what, I got caught, but I got caught going for it.’ You don’t walk away feeling bad about yourself. My last fight, I don’t feel good about. I didn’t really go for it like I usually do. If it was a gun fight, I died with bullets in my gun.”

On finding a new process once he signed with Bellator: “You’ve got to take a step back and look at your career. It’s about fighting. It’s still the big fight. It’s still under the lights. At the end of the day, once you get in that cage, it brings the best out of you. It’s about making sure your mindset is ready every fight and competing at the highest level and competing at your best and finding what that takes to get there. A lot of times, there’s that worry of, ‘Am I going to get cut?’ and worrying about that I need to look more professional or look more slick or whatever it may be. It’s about going in there and getting your win and making the most of these opportunities given to you really.”

On Galvao: “I’ve seen him fight before. He’s a tough guy. He’s been at the top, a champ at 135. The guy’s a winner. He knows how to win, good jiu-jitsu guy. That being said, I give him a lot of credit. He’s won a lot of fights. He knows how to win. Even some of his losses, he got robbed, but that’s a tough thing to come back from. It’s got to be mentally tough.”

On focusing on his own game plan: “I’ve gone into Brazil and knocked out black belts. I’m not selling myself short. I know how to do that. It’s about defining the fight and making it yours…It’s racking up wins and getting on a roll and keeping that momentum; that’s what I’m looking forward to doing. That will take care of itself if you just focus on one fight at a time and get rolling. Right after the next, I want to roll right into another fight. I feel like I’ve said that a million times, but I need that to happen, and I’ve got to hold up my end, which is winning. Go in and win, get a finish, and that’s a big deal. That’s kind of where I’m at. I’ve had a lot of fights. I’ve got a lot of experience, and now I’ve got to focus on winning.”