While former Bellator light-heavyweight champion Liam McGeary was able to have a positive year outside of fighting in 2017, his MMA career followed a rocky road.
Not only did McGeary have multiple opponents drop out of fights, he himself had to miss his last scheduled bout of the year, on top of splitting the two fights he did have, finishing the year 1-1.
“In regards to MMA (2017) wasn’t very good,” McGeary told MMAWeekly.com. “I had the one fight fall through at the end of the year. An injury happened, but I was more than ready to go on October 20.
“(In February) I was looking for a fight. I was coming off the loss from Phil Davis and I wanted to get straight back in there. I didn’t really care who I was fighting in that one. They gave me three or four different opponents, and I said yes to all of them. Brett (McDermott) stepped up on that one, and what a warrior he is.”
McGeary’s start and stop year was admittedly frustrating at times. But McGeary did his best to put it behind him and focused on solidifying his game so he could return to the success of years prior.
“You can’t let that get to you,” said McGeary. “If you let it get to you, it will start affecting what you do in the cage.
“I was ignorant to the wrestling. I never paid much attention to the wrestling. I just concentrated on Jiu-Jitsu and striking. After the Linton (Vassell) fight (in May), I had a few things to sort out. And then I went straight to the wrestling and sorted it out.”
Liam McGeary Returns to the Cage at Bellator 194
Following a 9-month layoff, McGeary (12-2) will return to action on Friday in Uncasville, Conn., to take on Vadim Nemkov (8-2) in a Bellator 194 main card light heavyweight bout.
“I believe (Nemkov) has some heavy hands, but once he feels me he’s not going to want to stand up,” McGeary said. “He’s going to want to try to wrestle. He’s got a bit of a Sambo background. It doesn’t matter to me. I’m prepared. I’m going to do what I want to do.”
While McGeary is looking to avoid the pitfalls of last year, he doesn’t intend to change his outlook on how he approaches fighting when it comes to 2018.
“I take each fight as it comes,” said McGeary. “One fight at a time. One person at a time. One victory at a time. One knockout at a time. One submission at a time. I’m not going to give you a time. I’m not going to give you a date. I’m not going to give you a round. Just enjoy the show.”
