Coming off a loss to Diego Rivas at UFC Fight Night 82 in February of 2016, featherweight Noad Lahat had something to prove heading into his Bellator 164 bout with Scott Cleve last November.
Not wanting to suffer two losses in a row and start off his stint with a new promotion on a bad foot, Lahat was able to pick up a quick first-round submission of Cleve to avoid such complications.
“It’s important not to lose at any point of your career,” Lahat told MMAWeekly.com. “That loss (against Rivas) hurt no matter what. Coming from a loss, I don’t like that feeling, so I’m not planning on being there again.
“I think I performed pretty well (versus Cleve). I enjoyed the fight, and I’m anxious to keep my momentum going for this (upcoming) one.”
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Lahat (10-2) will seek his second straight win for Bellator when he returns to the promotion on Friday to take on Lloyd Carter (11-8) in a main card featherweight bout in Rosemont, Ill.
“I think the match-up is pretty good for me,” said Lahat. “We had a couple of fighters get hurt, and finally got Lloyd Carter to accept the fight.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a good night for him. I want to deliver as much pain as possible and finish the fight.”
Though some jostling went on before Carter became his scheduled opponent, Lahat did not let himself get concerned about having to prepare for multiple fighters before things were finalized.
“I don’t care, whatever,” Lahat said. “If it changes, doesn’t change, it’s the same. I’m getting myself better. I don’t care about (who I’m fighting). My opponent is just a name.”
Looking ahead, Lahat isn’t focused on anything but facing the best competition available and making a living for himself from fighting.
“It’s hard to make plans (beyond that) because you don’t know how a fight’s going to end,” said Lahat. “You don’t know physically how you’re going to be, so it’s just one fight at a time.
“I’m fighting because I love it, and I like getting paid, so I really don’t care about anything else – I really love what I do – as long as I get to fight good fighters, have good fights and have fun.”
