Linton Vassell targets heavyweight title shot after Bellator 277 win
Two-time Bellator light heavyweight title challenger Linton Vassell is on a hot streak since moving up a weight class. Now he wants a shot at the heavyweight title.
Linton Vassell made a big step toward a shot at the Bellator heavyweight title with a first-round TKO finish of former interim title challenger Tim Johnson at Bellator 277, but his victory was anything but plain sailing.
Vassell got clipped early by the heavy-handed Johnson, and for a while it looked like "Big Swarm" was in big trouble as Johnson rained down heavy shots on the grounded Brit early in the first round.
However, Vassell showed his durability and fighting spirit to survive the onslaught before turning the tables on his opponent and finishing him with ground strikes for a come-from-behind first-round finish.
Speaking to reporters backstage after his 22nd career win, Vassell relived the tricky moment after he was dropped early in the fight.
"I wasn't sure what actually connected, but I wasn't hurt enough," he said.
"I still knew what I was doing, I could still hear my corner. My corner was saying, 'Grab the leg. Shrimp. Get your hips out and get on top. And don't stop landing shots.' So that's exactly what I did, and yeah, the ref stopped it.
"I could see he wanted out. He wasn't able to get me off him. It wasn't doing that the right moves to get me off. So I knew as long as I kept landing shots, kept busy, the ref would stop it."
Vassell's win extended his run of good form to four straight victories. The 38-year-old from Milton Keynes made the decision to move up to heavyweight after an 11-fight run at light heavyweight that saw him twice challenge for the 205-pound title.
But, after falling short in his attempts at championship gold at 205 pounds, he took the decision to move up to heavyweight and, after a unanimous decision loss to Valentin Moldavsky, he has been in superb form.
TKO finishes of Sergei Kharitonov, Ronny Markes and Johnson and a split decision win over Tyrell Fortune have positioned Vassell in the middle of the heavyweight title picture.
Those victories have also build Vassell's confidence in his ability to take heavier shots from Bellator's big men after suffering back-to-back finishes due to strikes at the end of his light heavyweight run.
"It's always on your mind, no matter how much you train or how many rounds you do with your partners and how fit you are, you always think, 'If I get clipped, can I take it? And will I gas?'" he explained.
"Now this shows I can take a shot. Same with the Tyrell (Fortune) fight and other fights that I've won.
"So yeah, it's obviously a big pat on my back to say I've still got it (at) 38, 39 in June. So I feel like I'm just getting better, especially at heavyweight. So, I'm coming for that gold."
Vassell called his shot in the cage after his win, addressing Scott Coker directly and saying he wants either a title shot next, or a rematch with former interim champion Moldavsky.
But the gold is the goal for "Big Swarm," who said he's happy to wait for his chance at the biggest prize in Bellator MMA.
"The title fight is always number one," he said.
"We never know what Bellator is gonna do. So if I don't get that then I've got other plans, but that's what I'm looking for – the world title. So yeah, I will wait."