Galvao Not a Fan of Warren’s Shtick

Marcos Galvao (left) eyes a huge upset Saturday night at Bellator 41. | Sherdog.com

Galvao, a two-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion and Bellator Fighting Championships veteran, will meet Warren in a non-title super fight at Bellator 41 on Saturday at the Cocopah Resort and Casino in Yuma, Ariz. He would like nothing more than to interject some humility into his brash opponent.

“I don’t know Joe personally, but from what I’ve seen of him on television, I think he needs to be a little more humble,” Galvao said. “I definitely think he should respect other athletes more than he does.”

Warren will carry a four-fight winning streak into the bout. The 34-year-old has not competed since Bellator 27 in September, when he knocked out Joe Soto to capture the promotion’s 145-pound title at the Majestic Theater in San Antonio. Warren, one of the sport’s most decorated amateur wrestlers, made a smooth transition to MMA in 2009, as he advanced to the semifinals of the Dream featherweight grand prix. He debut with a first-round technical knockout over former WEC bantamweight champion Chase Beebe and then stunned Japanese standout Norifumi Yamamoto by split decision in just his second professional outing.

Galvao has his work cut out for him.

“Joe is a great fighter,” he said. “The fact that he’s a champion on a big show like Bellator shows how good he is. He’s beaten some really tough guys on his way to the title, so I know he’s a very dangerous fighter. To be honest, I don’t see many obvious holes in Joe’s game for me to exploit. I know Joe is an excellent fighter, and wherever this fight goes, I’m going to be ready.

“I definitely see myself as the underdog in this fight,” Galvao added. “It’s no secret that I’m going to be a huge underdog, but that’s fine with me. All that does is make me hungrier and want to work that much harder.”

Based in New York, the 29-year-old Galvao will enter the cage with plenty of his own momentum. He has pieced together a streak of three straight wins since his frightening knockout loss to Damacio Page two years ago, becoming the Ring of Combat featherweight champion in the process.

“I’m going to shock a lot of people -- without a doubt,” Galvao said. “I know there will be a lot of people in disbelief. I believe in myself so much that I have a lot of friends and family coming to this fight from New York to see me win.”