Bellator 101's Saad Awad not looking ahead during second tournament run

When approaching his second Bellator lightweight tournament, Saad Awad is determined not to make the same mistakes as his first tournament run.

The most significant difference for Awad (14-5 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) this time around is the fact he knew he would be a part of it well ahead of time – a luxury the 30-year-old did not have when he stepped in on short notice during the season 8 tournament earlier this year.

“It’s a little bit different. Last time was like, ‘Oh, I have a fight,” Awad told MMAjunkie.com Radio. “I didn’t look at it as a tournament, I look at it as a fight and I won, but then I have another fight in a month, then I have another fight. This time I’m training knowing I’ll be fighting back-to-back-to-back and hopefully it goes my way.”

When participating in a Bellator tournament for the first time, Awad believes he did not take the correct mental approach. Even though he only had a few weeks to get ready, the American believes he focused too much on himself and didn’t spend enough time studying his opponent.

“From the last tournament it was kind of like, ‘You’re fighting this guy in two weeks.’ I didn’t know anything about him,” Awad said. “I’m like, ‘Screw it I’m just going to go out there and fight my fight and get things going.’”

That all changed for this training camp, though. Awad knew he would be a part of the upcoming tournament, which begins Friday at Bellator 101, which takes place at The Moda Center at Rose Quarter (formerly known as Rose Garden) in Portland. The main card airs on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.

Instead, Awad adjusted his training to focus solely on Martin Stapleton (12-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

“I always try to fight my fight but this time I know I’m fighting this guy, fighting this guy, and that guys name is stuck in my head like a nightmare,” Awad said. “I need to go in there and get it out of my head so I can move on to the next guy.”

Speaking of the next guy, the major challenge involved with winning a Bellator tournament is the grueling scheduled of three fights in a three-month time period.

While it’s difficult not to look ahead and think about the pot of gold that sits at the end of the rainbow, Awad refuses to take any of his attention off Stapleton and claims he is not thinking about the $100,000 total tournament prize.

“I don’t think about the big opportunity, because when you start thinking about that your mindset is not on just the fight,” Awad said. “I try to keep focused on this one fight and have one guy ahead of me and one guy to think about and get through him and then think about it.”

Awad had the Season 8 tournament crown within his grasps, but was defeated by David Rickels in the final and had to settle with being the runner-up.

That specific shortcoming is a hugely motivating factor for Awad going forward. And while he’s not focused on the opportunities that would come along with winning the tournament, his knows a string of victories would lead to his ultimate goal of becoming a world champion.

“We fight to be the champ and be the best,” Awad said. “If you’re not fighting to be the best then you’re in the wrong sport. There’s some guys that are fighting just to get on TV and be a local star, but that’s not what I’m fighting for.

“I’m fighting to be the best and beat the best in our organization.”

For the latest on Bellator 101, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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