Adam Borics wasn’t surprised when he was selected as a participant in the Bellator featherweight title eliminator taking place Friday. However, the face who will stand across from him during the fight caught him a bit off guard.
In the Bellator 265 co-main event, Borics (17-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA) faces rising New Zealander Jay Jay Wilson (8-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), a fighter he thinks has not yet proven himself to be amongst the upper-echelon.
“He’s 8-0,” Borics told MMA Junkie on Wednesday. “I think he’s never faced a really, really tough guy. Who’s he fought? Nobody really. I already fought former champs and one of the biggest talents in the world. I have really tough fights. I took this fight because I want to fight for a title for sure, but it’s just another fight for me – one step closer.”
Wilson, 24, is highlighted by some, as a presumably key figure for the Bellator featherweight division in the coming years. Walking the walk and talking the talk thus far, Wilson added a pair of violent finishes to his highlight reel in his most recent two outings.
The undefeated youngster’s biggest opponent, however, has been weigh-in day. Over the span of his three most recent fights, Wilson missed weight twice. Borics doesn’t understand how Wilson has continued to move up the ladder despite the struggles on the scale.
“First of all, he has to make weight because the last two times, he missed weight,” Borics said. “I don’t understand how he can be fighting (in a title eliminator). I just want to break him.”
Borics, 26, hasn’t been topped often inside the cage, but when he has, his wrestling was to blame. In an interview of his own Wednesday, Wilson told MMA Junkie he thinks advantages in his favor will shine through on the ground. Borics had a different take.
“I think he knows he doesn’t have any chance in striking against me,” Borics said. “I think he doesn’t have that good wrestling, like, for example, (Darrion) Caldwell or (Aaron) Pico. We just saw what happened when Pico took me down. He couldn’t do any damage on me. I think my ground defense is really, really good and my takedown defense is as well.
“I’m ready for anything. People forget I have, I don’t know, seven (or) eight submissions. When I fought for the first time in the U.S., I fought against a really, really tough Brazilian, who was a black belt and I submitted him.”
If he wins, Borics will earn the right to be the next man to fight recently-crowned champion, A.J. McKee, at featherweight. It’s the perfect match, according to Borics, as he thinks he’s the only fighter on the roster who has the tools to hand McKee (18-0 MMA, 18-0 BMMA) his first professional loss.
“I definitely think, and I believe, I can beat A.J. McKee,” Borics said. “I think I’m the only guy who can beat A.J. McKee on the Bellator roster. I don’t want to think about it because when I lost against Caldwell, I was already thinking, ‘Oh, next round I’m going to (fight) against A.J.’ So I just focus on Jay Jay Wilson now.”
Bellator 265 takes place Friday at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The main card airs on Showtime after prelims on MMA Junkie.