After Rafael dos Anjos broke his foot, Bellator’s Sirwan Kakai kicked a little easier

Sirwan Kakai

When big news breaks in MMA, there’s a ripple effect across gyms.

Bellator bantamweight Sirwan Kakai remembers the morning he heard UFC lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos broke his foot less than two weeks prior to Saturday’s UFC 196, it gave pause to Kakai, who fights Friday at Bellator 151.

“That day, I had sparring,” he told MMAjunkie Radio. “I was like, man, I need to be careful with sparring.”

It was understandable to Kakai that a serious injury had occured so close to dos Anjos’ fight, because as a longtime competitor, he knew the atmosphere in MMA gyms wasn’t always conducive to health.

“We’re competitive guys,” he said. “The people who fight at this level, you want to win, no matter what the training is. But I just remembered that. I don’t want to miss this paycheck.”

Kakai had missed out on a few opportunities in his career. He made it past the first wave of cuts when the UFC cast for “The Ultimate Fighter 14” and made it to Season 18 before losing in the elimination round. He signed with Bellator after a split-call loss to Frakie Saenz this past August.

On Friday, Kakai (12-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) makes his debut with the Viacom-owned promotion, facing Joe Taimanglo (21-6-1 MMA, 4-2 BMMA) at Bellator 151, and doesn’t want anything getting in the way of success.

“I’ve been training so hard, so when I was throwing kicks, I was throwing with a little less bad intentions, because I didn’t want to break my foot.”

Bellator 151 takes place at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thackerville, Okla. The event’s main card airs live on Spike following prelims on Spike.com.

A member of American Top Team, Kakai moved to Florida’s famed MMA team to get a higher level of training. Previously, he had plied his trade in his adopted country of Sweden, where he worked out of GBG MMA. Although he characterized his training in America as more serious, he said gyms are changing in their approach to the weeks prior to the fight, where injuries that bring withdrawals often occur.

“I think the game is changing,” he said. “It’s a very new sport. We’re still behind the other sports and how they train, and how well-educated the people are around them. If you believe you have to grind, grind, grind, you’re going to have that mindset.

“But I don’t think you need to go that hard. It’s more about film and timing and moving around in that last week. I went hard my last sparring session, but not as hard as I normally go. I was thinking twice.”

For that, Kakai has the UFC lightweight champ to thank for the reminder. At 26, he has plenty of years to work his way back up the ladder. There’s little point in getting stuck out of the gate.

For more on Bellator 151, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show, available on SiriusXM Ch. 93, is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.