Will Fleury Out To 'Smash The Older Lads On Juice' Clogging Up Bellator MMA

Bellator MMA head to Rome, Italy this weekend for Bellator 203 and there’s a new Irishman in town, Will Fleury.

The SBG Ireland middleweight is 4-0 as a professional and has fought under the Brave CF, EFC, BAMMA and Battle Zone FC banners. Having spent a period on the debut season on EFC’s ‘The Fighter’ reality show after an extensive amateur career where he went 7-0, Fleury has already built a solid resume and having signed for Bellator MMA earlier this year he will now make his promotional debut this weekend.

Speaking to MMANytt.com this past week, Fleury explained how the deal came about.

“I was talking to EFC, but they were being really awkward and wouldn’t give me a full deal and any deal they were giving me was for s*** money to be honest,” Fleury said. “Brave then came in with better money and I had a three fight deal with them.

“The contract had a clause in that I would get a title shot in Dublin if I beat that guy Tarek Suleiman, which I did, but then they started saying that they weren’t coming to Dublin. To be honest it was great because I opened the door up for Bellator. They expressed some interest to John [Kavanagh] and as soon as I found that out I was made interested because they’re a great promotion.”

The buzz of fighting abroad

Having fought in a number of different organisations already, Fleury isn’t at all concerned about fighting abroad and says he actually relishes the opportunity to face another man in his own backyard.

“I love the buzz of getting out and seeing the world,” Fleury said. “Just through cornering alone I’ve gone out and been able to see a good few places. I love that. The fact that it’s in Rome as well, the fact that I’m like a Celt in Rome, I just get that buzz like.

“It’s like I’m the invader here and I’m showing up somewhere they want to see me just get smashed. I get a buzz out of that. It puts the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, like f*** all yous. I’m going to smash this little p*** like.”

Heavy hands not a problem

Fleury will face Alen Amedovski, a Macedonian fighter with a 5-0 record and with five knockouts already to his name. The SBG Ireland man recognises the danger that Amedovski poses, but isn’t in the least bit concerned about what will go down on fight night.

“He’s 5-0, but all the lads he’s been fighting have been fairly poor,” Fleury said. “I know a few lads who have sparred with him and they say he has pretty heavy hands. He’s supposed to be a half decent grappler for a while but then gasses, but look, whatever, I’m going to get in there, smash this lad and make it look easy.

“I’m going out there to make a statement and I’ve been around this game too long to pass this opportunity up. This is my big opportunity so trust me I’ll be taking it with both hands.”

Building momentum

With the likes of Lyoto Machida, Gegard Mousasi and Rafael Carvalho all mixing it at the top of Bellator 185-pounds division, Fleury recognises that the door is open for him to get right amongst it with a good performance.

“The end goal is to get myself amongst those big names,” Fleury said. “I was over in London to watch Mousasi fight and I just remember thinking to myself that I can beat him. He earns ten times more than I do and people think there’s such a gulf in class between the two of us, but no.

“I want that shot and I want it soon, but obviously, from a promotional standpoint it doesn’t make any sense to do that right now. I don’t have a massive following or the hype behind me, but I want to build that hype train as fast as possible.”

Older generation clogging up the sport

Whilst anxious to get his name amongst the big names, something that doesn’t sit so well with the Irishman is the amount that the older generation of fighters in Bellator are getting paid. Fleury thinks it’s about time these fighters stood aside and let some of the younger fighters earn a decent living from the sport.

“I’d love to smash a few of these older lads along the way who are making serious paychecks,” Fleury said. “They are clogging up the sport and there’s a new generation coming through and we’re a lot better. We have a lot more youngers lads here now and we got a load of older lads on juice who get great paychecks and it’s bulls*** because they won’t fight anyone like me.

“I’m hopefully getting a fight against someone like Wanderlei Silva or someone like that and just go in and just smash him. I want to expose him. This new generation of lads is a lot better, but the issue is getting those older lads to show up and fight. They know the truth really. It’s a frustrating position to be in. I can’t make a living out of this sport right now. I’m working as a doorman for six nights a week right now. It’s a bit much at times and it’s a bit frustrating.”