Bellator 170's Guilherme Vasconcelos won't dish on Demi Lovato, but happy to discuss Chael Sonnen

For some, getting a spot on “The Ultimate Fighter” cast is seen as a way to fast-track an often-difficult career path.

For Guilherme Vasconcelos, however, being on the third season of the Brazilian version of the long-running UFC reality series was just the beginning of an up-and-down ride. Now, after a failed UFC one-off, a four-fight regional streak that was snapped by a close loss, and finally a successful Bellator debut, “Bomba” reflects on the road since the “TUF” days with pride.

The show may not have been the magic solution to all his problems, but it certainly armed him to better deal with them.

“(‘TUF’) was a learning experience for life and for me as an athlete,” Vasconcelos told MMAjunkie. “After it, I had to run after everything again, start almost from scratch. I was almost there, and lost, and that gave me strength and growth. I’m grateful for ‘TUF.’ Before entering it, I always imagined I’d never have the strength to do it, I always thought it would be too much for me to live with the guys who were going to fight me.

“But when I had the opportunity, I faced it head on. So when I look back, I see it was a challenge that I didn’t think I could conquer, and I did. At ‘TUF,’ ‘Demente’ (Ricardo Abreu) and I had the fight of the season, so it was really cool. It was a great experience, priceless. I’d do it all over again – but better now.”

“TUF” turned out to be valuable in more ways than one. It was there that Vasconcelos, who was eliminated in the opening round, met coach Chael Sonnen, who took the Brazilian under his wing and even pulled some strings to get “Bomba” his ultimately unsuccessful octagon debut at UFC 175.

The coach and his pupil were supposed to have been on the same card then – with Sonnen originally set to face opposing coach/fellow vet Wanderlei Silva (and later Vitor Belfort) before failed drug tests pulled the “American Gangster” from the card and led him to announce his retirement.

More than two years later, however, Vasconcelos gets to accomplish something he’s “wanted for years” as he heads into the Sonnen-headlined Bellator 170.

“It’s one of the reasons it took me a while to fight again,” Vasconcelos said. “I asked to fight on the same card. We’re good friends. We were talking on the phone yesterday. He asked me how my weight was, and I said it was under control.

“When he’s in California, he comes train with me. I go train with him. So we’re very close. We’re always in touch. It wasn’t a coincidence. We wanted to fight the same day, and thankfully it was possible. Athletes have a lot of injuries. Thankfully, I’m a 100 percent healthy, and he is too, so we get to make it happen on the same day.”

Vasconcelos (8-3, 1-0 BMMA) faces John Mercurio (8-7, 0-1 BMMA), who is riding back-to-back wins after a split decision loss on his sole Bellator outing. The welterweight scrap is part of the preliminary card of Jan. 21’s Bellator 170 event, which takes place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card airs on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie.

On his end, Vasconcelos is prepared to deal with an aggressive, knockout-driven opponent. And while his philosophy is always to focus on himself rather than obsessing over what his opponent may do, he’s got himself covered in that department, with help from the likes of UFC middleweight Uriah Hall and lauded kickboxer Joe Schilling, his No. 1 sparring partner.

Moving forward, the 170-pounder avoids making bold projections or setting deadlines and timetables for his career advances. After all, learning to manage expectations – not only his own but those of others – seems to have been key to the 30-year-old’s growth.

“For sure (there were expectations),” Vasconcelos said. “And fighting is something that – the more you win, the more recognized you’ll be, and the bigger the pressure. So you need to really work that in your head and understand that it’s normal. I think the tendency is for that to increase; the more you win, the more recognition you’ll get – not just in sports but in everything in life.

“The demands are higher. The eyes will be on you. So I think from the moment you don’t let that get in your way, you’ll be OK. I think now I don’t focus in impressing anyone anymore. I focus on my personal goals as an athlete. That’s my focus.”

As far as having eyes on him, Vasconcelos certainly seems to be dealing with a new layer of that due to a reported relationship with singer and training enthusiast Demi Lovato. The fighter won’t go into the details of that, but, with a laughter, dismissed any impact the added tabloid-like attention may have had in his life.

“I’m not even going to talk too much about that, but I don’t even care,” Vasconcelos said. “I don’t care about that. My focus on my fight is too strong, so I don’t pay it too much attention.”

For more on Bellator 170, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.