Will home pressure get to Noad Lahat in Bellator 188 headliner? Jimmy Smith weighs in

Is the pressure on for Noad Lahat when he fights for Bellator for the second time in front of his home fans in Tel Aviv?

If there’s pressure being a home fan favorite, and being the de facto top guy for a whole country, Lahat didn’t show it a year ago in his promotional debut at Bellator 164. And that impressed Bellator analyst Jimmy Smith.

“Everybody thinks about crowd support – they think about having everyone behind you, they think about having everybody chanting your name,” Smith said in the latest edition of Bellator’s “Foundations” video series, which focused on Lahat. “Fighting has enough pressure, and the idea that you have the hopes of an entire country on your shoulders … everybody’s expecting you to win, hoping that you win, praying that you win – that weighs on you.”

Lahat (11-3 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) takes on Jeremiah Labiano (11-5 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) in Bellator 188’s main event in Israel, where he was born. The fight takes place tonight, but airs Friday night on Spike on tape delay.

At Bellator 164, Lahat took out Scott Cleve in Tel Aviv with a first-round rear-naked choke. Tonight, he’ll be looking to rebound from his first loss in the promotion with an entire country rooting him on.

“In Israel, the sport is growing, but it’s not huge,” Smith said. “There aren’t a lot of representatives that the country can get behind and go, ‘This is our guy.’ Noad Lahat’s that guy.”

Check out the video above to hear more from Smith about Lahat’s return to Israel.

And for more on Bellator 188, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.