Bellator's heavyweight championship isn't a long established title, but former Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestler Cole Konrad is looking to make some noise with the strap around his waist. That can't happen if he's unable to defend the belt on Friday night against challenger Eric Prindle, though, so there's quite a bit of pressure on the 265-pound behemoth.
Konrad might be at a disadvantage considering he's had to wait quite awhile to defend his title due to a bevy of random issues in Bellator's tournament, but he told SB Nation's MMA Mania that he's ready to go on Friday night.
Brian Hemminger (MMAmania.com): That time off and eagerness to come back, Is that part of the reason why you decided to take your title fight within two weeks of Prindle not ending up having to fight in the finals?
Cole Konrad: Absolutely. As rare as I'd been getting fights there, I didn't know when the next offer would come. They could have offered me a fight on two days' notice and I would have taken it. That's just how it was. I was training so it wasn't completely out of the blue but obviously, you'd like to have a full camp going into a fight but I took that fight on short notice because as rare as I was getting fights offered, I had to take it. I have to make a living too.
It should be a fun night of fights, especially if Konrad comes out running on all cylinders after the long layoff.
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