After first MMA loss, Tywan Claxton made his life even harder before Bellator 235

HONOLULU – Tywan Claxton didn’t exactly like the taste left in his mouth after the first loss of his MMA career.

But instead of trying to get it out of his mouth entirely, he essentially welcomed even more of it in the name of making himself better.

Claxton was submitted by Emmanuel Sanchez in the opening round of Bellator’s ongoing featherweight tournament in September after opening his pro career with four knockouts in his first five fights.

“I needed to make sure this camp was filled with adversity – and it was. It was,” Claxton told MMA Junkie. “Constantly losing in training – that’s the key. That’s the only thing you can do – sit there, learn, and move on.”

Claxton (5-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) on Friday meets Braydon Akeo (3-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) at Bellator 235 (“Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops 2019”), which takes place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Akeo earned his way into Bellator during open tryouts for Hawaiian fighters earlier this year, and now he’ll make his promotional debut against Claxton in front of his home fans.

To hear more from Claxton about Friday’s fight, check out the full interview above.