Airport brings travel headache for Bellator 110's Goiti Yamauchi

For returning Bellator veteran Goiti Yamauchi, making weight could be a bigger struggle than it should be in his next appearance for the promotion.

Yamauchi’s uncle and coach, Ossamu Yamauchi, wrote Wednesday on Facebook that an airport delay caused them to miss a connecting flight for the event, Bellator 110, which takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.

“We arrived well in Miami, but due to this slow pace through immigration, we missed our flight to Hartford!” Yamauchi wrote.

The coach added that they were rebooked for a Thursday flight at 6 a.m., but not offered a hotel room by the airline.

That means they’ll end up sleeping in the terminal, so when the fighter arrives in Connecticut, he’ll not only need to rub his eyes, but start shedding pounds quickly so he’ll be able to make the limit for his featherweight bout in the opening round of Bellator’s Season 10 tournament.

Goiti Yamauchi (16-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) meets fellow Bellator vet Will Martinez (8-2-1 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) on Bellator 110's main card, which airs live on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.

Yamauchi, who was born in Japan but emigrated to Brazil at age 3, hopes his first tournament appearance leads him to bigger things in his MMA career. He’s already stopped two opponents within the first round in non-tourney appearances, and he could add a few big names to his resume: vets Diego Nunes and Mike Richman, who also are part of the tourney field.

“To me, there’s no such thing as talent,” Yamauchi told MMAjunkie prior to his travel woes. “I’m hard worker. I don’t like to go out and party. I’ve sacrificed everything in my life since 10 years of age to bring me to this moment. These will be the three most important fights of my life. I’m confident the sacrifices will pay off.”

Martinez makes his tournament debut on the strength of a seven-fight winning streak that includes four non-tournament appearances, all of which he earned in the first round.

“He’s a very complete fighter, but he won’t make it out of the third round,” Yamauchi said. “I’ve studied him well from all the videos I found online. I enjoy researching my opponents. I think Mike Richman is the most qualified after me.

“I believe that my fight experience is much greater than the other athletes in the tournament, not only in MMA, but in other combat sports. I’m many times more experienced than Will Martinez, whether in jiu-jitsu, MMA, muay Thai or boxing. I’ve been competing since 4 years of age. That’s why I know I’m one of the more experienced guys, not just in the tournament, but also in Bellator.”

Yamauchi believes he’ll soon be fighting not the current featherweight champ, Daniel Straus, but former champ Pat Curran, who rematches Straus at Bellator 112.

Hopefully, the buildup to his future fights isn’t as fraught with travel complications.

“I’m anxious to go through the tournament,” he said. “And I’m well aware that I’d have to wait for the belt, but taking the belt from the champion remains my goal.”

For more on Bellator 110, stay tuned to the MMA Events section of the site.