Lozano Wants to Break Paycheck-to-Paycheck Cycle

Chris Lozano (left) faces Brent Weedman on Saturday in Atlantic City, N.J. | Photo: Keith Mills

“I was dead broke [when I signed with Bellator]. I was in debt,” Lozano told Sherdog.com. “You know how it is when you’re fighting paycheck to paycheck.”

Like many fighters struggling to break into MMA’s major leagues, Lozano struggled financially as a mid-tier competitor. Signing with Bellator provided him with the kind of stability he needed to grow as a martial artist, competitively and financially.

“This was a chance to be able to train where I want to train and to make things happen,” he said. “It was a no-brainer. I was 6-0 at the time. I want to be [Bellator] champion, too, but I’m champion of another organization and that is putting money in my pocket.”

After achieving a corner stoppage over UFC veteran Yoshiyuki Yoshida in his promotional debut at Bellator 31 in September 2010, Lozano was set up for a main card bout with former champion Lyman Good in the Season 4 welterweight tournament six months later. Admittedly, the bright lights of the first MTV2 televised main event were a first for Lozano. He considers it a wakeup call of sorts.

“I had the bigwigs saying, ‘No pressure, but this is the first main event ever.’ I was on billboards,” he said. “I fought Lyman in the first round of the tournament [and] took a head butt. I had never been hurt like that. He’s not an easy dude to beat up. He won a decision, but it definitely made me calmer.”

Lozano will get a second crack at tournament glory when he faces Brent Weedman in the Season 5 welterweight quarterfinals at Bellator 49 on Saturday in Atlantic City, N.J. The seasoned striker poses a far different test than Good. While Good was content to stay at distance and use his jab, Lozano does not believe Weedman will follow a similar game plan.

“He’s definitely super tough,” Lozano said. “I think our styles match up great. Weedman is gonna come out and try to beat me [up]. I think this upcoming fight is gonna be a real test of everything: my endurance, my ground game and my standup. It’s gonna be a fight. It’s not gonna be a test of who can outbox each other, who can land more jabs in a round, like my fight with Lyman.”