With tenderized leg, Bellator's Justin Wilcox admits lack of intel on Stepanyan

Justin Wilcox admits he didn’t do much homework on Akop Stepanyan. And from the sound of it, neither did his longtime coach, Bob Cook.

Wilcox, a veteran lightweight who dropped to 145 pounds for Bellator’s Season 9 tournament, said he watched one fight video of Stepanyan’s prior to their meeting in the competition’s opening round this past weekend.

Cook, who works with Wilcox (12-5 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) at the famed American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Calif., also told him Stepanyan (13-6 MMA, 1-3 BMMA) had “good standup.”

At least, that’s what Wilcox heard. He was a little distracted from making his first cut to featherweight, which required him to shed some of the thick muscle he’d maintained over the years as a lightweight.

“I don’t have fat on me, so it’s not really Twinkie pounds,” the former pro bodybuilder told MMAjunkie.com Radio.

Now, several days after their fight at Bellator 99, Wilcox knows Stepanyan all too well. How could he not? Every time he takes a step, there the Russian-Armenian fighter is.

Wilcox was swept off his legs several times by hard leg kicks in the main-card bout, which aired on Spike TV from Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Calif. He injured himself in a midair collision in the second round. And had he not taken Stepanyan to the ground and secured a rear-naked choke, another kick probably would have finished him.

Stepanyan is a black belt in taekwondo and a national champion in kickboxing in his native country. That might have been good to know.

As the expert striker lay unconscious on the mat after the referee stopped the fight, Wilcox pointed toward the heavens and thanked his higher power.

“I prayed about this fight before I took it, and the Lord said he was going to be with me,” he said.

Wilcox is walking a lot better than the day after the fight, when he said his limb hardly resembled its intended shape, size and color. Now, he laughs about Cook’s unremarkable description of Stepanyan.

As he said to his coach after the fight: “Next time, why don’t you elaborate a little bit?”

“He’s the best standup guy I’ve ever seen,” Wilcox said. “I really admire him. He had some beautiful standup.”

Wilcox can also thank another person for getting him through the ordeal: Josh Koscheck. The UFC vet was in his corner and screamed at him to fight through the pain and even shooed away a concerned referee.

“When you talk to Josh, there’s no communication,” Wilcox said. “There’s only one line of communication, and that comes from him. I’m trying to tell him, ‘Well, Josh, I’m just trying to tell you, I can’t walk on my leg. I can’t even put any pressure on it.’ He goes, ‘You’re fine.’ I go, ‘OK, I’m fine.’”

Wilcox next meets Joe Taimanglo (19-4-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) in the semifinals of the tournament, which is slated for Bellator 103 on Oct. 11 at Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kansas.

Wilcox calls Taimanglo a “heavy-handed little banger.” It’s a description that could fit any number of MMA fighters.

Here’s hoping he gets a little more intel next time around.

For the latest on Bellator 103, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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