Q&A with John Alessio as he gears up for Bellator Tournament

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Category: Bellator News

Published on Monday, 29 July 2013 04:48

Written by Darren Barcomb

MMA DIRT’s Darren Barcomb had the honor of catching up with British Columbia’s John “The Natural” Alessio as he gears up for this fall’s Bellator Lightweight Tournament. The 34 year old Alessio, who now hails from Las Vegas, is known world-wide for his stints with the UFC, Pride, and the WEC in a 15 year career that has produced a remarkable 34-16 record.

Now, the well-travelled Alessio will bring his talents to Bellator and will debut on September 27^th at the Rose Garden Arena in Portland against Will Brooks (10-1) in a lightweight tournament quarterfinal matchup.

The remainder of the quarterfinal matchups will feature Marcus Davis (22-9) vs. Alexander Sarnavskiy (23-1), Saad Awad (14-5) vs. Martin Stapleton (12-1), and Rob Sinclair (12-2) vs. Rich Celmenti (45-22-1).

With such a skilled pool of fighter in the tourney, Alessio will have his hands full, but is not looking past the 26 year old “Ill” Will Brooks, who is 1-1 with the promotion following his inclusion in last season’s tournament.

Barcomb caught up with Alessio for a quick Q&A to get his thoughts on Bellator, Brooks, and the rest of the tournament bracket:

Barcomb: What do you know about Brooks, and how do you feel you match up?

Alessio: Brooks is a tough kid, he can wrestle also, a pretty well rounded guy. I think it’s a good fight and I’m going to bring it, get the win by any means necessary to move on to the semi-finals.

Barcomb: There are some big names in the tourney, what do you think about the skill level of the contestants and what do you think your biggest advantage is?

Alessio: This tournament is stacked with guys that have lots of experience and skill. This is going to be great and I’m happy to be a part of it. I believe I can win this!

Barcomb: How has your experience with Bellator gone so far? Give me your impression of the promotion.

Alessio: So far my experience with Bellator has been great and I don’t expect any issues to come up, although I haven’t even stepped inside the cage yet.

Barcomb: Is there anything in particular you are focusing on in this training camp?

Alessio: I’m focusing on getting stronger and more powerful, also trying to improve my wrestling.

Barcomb: Any last words or shout outs?

Alessio: Thanks to all that support Team Alessio!

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