Javy Ayala offers his predictions for the main event of Bellator 232 ‘MacDonald vs Lima 2’

Bellator 232: “MacDonald vs. Lima 2” airs from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. on Sat., Oct. 26, 2019. The finals of the Welterweight Grand Prix will be Rory MacDonald (21-5-1) defending the Welterweight title against Douglas Lima (31-7) in a long-awaited rematch.

Ironically the night before in the exact same venue, Frank Mir and Roy Nelson will also be having a much anticipated rematch. Javy Ayala (11-7) will be able to sit back and watch the action from the sidelines. Vitaly Minakov was unable to compete due to visa issues, so Ayala was left without an opponent for Saturday night.

Today “Eye Candy” Javy Ayala talks to MMA Mania about his big win over Mir last year.

“Ah you know what? It feels really great. Like I said, Frank’s been an idol of mine since I first started watching MMA and first started getting into it. To be able to go in there and have a win against him, it makes me feel real good.”

Ayala still hopes to fight Minakov at a later date, and if things continue to roll his way, he could have back to back victories over former champions.

“I’m actually super excited for this fight. I knew when I first started with Bellator, I was like ‘You know what? I’m going to fight him one day.’ When he was the champ, I was like ‘You know what? I’m going to end up fighting him.’”

Saying that actually puts into perspective how long both men have been around the promotion, although Minakov was stripped of the title he held for refusing to defend it.

“Yeah that’s what happened. That’s what I was hearing as well, and seeing and kind of noticing. (But) you know what? I feel like Bellator is a great organization. I think he finally came to his senses and seen that, and he realized it was a good place to fight for.”

Kazushi Sakuraba once had the nickname “Gracie Killer” for beating one member of the legendary MMA family after another. With wins over Sergei Kharitonov and Vitaly Minakov Ayala could be the “Russian Killer” in Bellator.

“Yeah you know what? I’m really excited to have it right there at the Mohegan Sun. That’s actually where I knocked out Sergei, so let’s see if I can go 2-0 at the Mohegan Sun!”

It remains to be seen if the fight will be booked for the same venue, but since Ayala’s idol Frank Mir is headlining the night before him in the same venue. I asked Ayala if he would have preferred to share the bill with his old opponent.

“That would have been a good one to be on.”

He’s looking forward to watching Rory MacDonald and Douglas Lima scrap in the Welterweight Grand Prix finals,

“That one’s going to be an exciting fight. The first time they fought it was a really good fight, and I’m excited to… hopefully I get back to the back quick enough to watch the second one.”

Who does Ayala think will win the rematch this time — Lima or MacDonald?

“You know what? Lima’s actually one of my favorite fighters. I feel like he’s going to do great. His stand up is real good, I know his ground (game) is really good, but Rory’s really tough. It’s going to be a good match up.”

I’m taking that as a prediction favoring “The Phenom.” As interested as he may be in Lima’s performance, it doesn’t take precedence over his own training and workouts.

“I feel I’ve been doing the same things I’ve normally been doing. I’ve been working a lot of takedown defense, I feel like that’s where I need to get my most strength back up. Other than that I’ve been working the same as I have been working (before), making sure my cardio is there, making sure I can fight the whole time.”

Ayala has also been studying tape on Minakov including his recent knockout of Timothy Johnson to see if there are any weaknesses he can exploit when the fight is made.

“It was a good fight. You could tell he came out and he was just strong and he hits hard. It showed in his punches especially in that match up, but it also showed me a lot of things that I can benefit from. My style is a lot different from Tim Johnson’s style. I feel like he’s going to have a little bit more trouble with my style.”

At the end of the day the biggest prize might not be to knock off two legendary Russian fighters — it might just be to earn a title shot at the “champ-champ” Ryan Bader.

“I feel like I’m close up there. If I get this win I would have a win over Minakov, a win over Frank Mir, and then a win over Sergei, (so) I feel like I would definitely be in contention right there for the next shot at (Bader).”

If it takes a rematch with Cheick Kongo or Roy Nelson to earn that opportunity though Ayala’s more than willing to accept the challenge.

“I’m always game for a rematch against those guys. Cheick ended quick so I didn’t really have a chance to showcase my skill set, so I would definitely love to a fight against Cheick again. Roy Nelson, that was a close fight, he beat me by a few takedowns. That’s something I’ve been working on. Hopefully I get a rematch to show what I can do now.”

Complete audio of our interview is embedded above, and complete coverage of Bellator 232: “MacDonald vs. Lima 2” resides here at MMA Mania all week long.

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