LOS ANGELES – Almost one year ago to the day, AJ Agazarm made his MMA debut.
On Saturday night at Bellator 238, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Agazarm (2-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) steps into the cage for his fourth bout. The Diaz brothers protege believes he’s come a long way in the past year.
On Wednesday at Bellator 238 media day, Agazarm told MMA Junkie he’s learned a lot about how to operate in and out of the cage during his “white belt” year.
“I came into MMA a white belt,” Agazarm said. “I’ve been fortunate to have some red belts to look up to. It’s been a journey.”
Agazarm said he’s learned the importance of keeping an open mind. Every combat sport is different. While he had a very successful career in grappling, MMA has different nuances he’s picked up.
“The dynamic of anything – I come from a big family, so it’s a pretty dynamic family,” Agazarm said. “There’s always a lot of moving parts just like anything else. You look at things more as a whole. I try not to individualize myself in the situation. There are a lot of fighters on this roster. You look at Bellator’s schedule over the past couple months, they were in Japan, they were in Hawaii, they were all over the place.
“This is just another show on their calendar, but I’m working to make this a special show. That’s why I work my tail off – to give you guys something to report on (and) give the fans something to watch. I’ll give myself my best foot forward in everything I do.”
At Bellator 238, Agazarm takes on his most experienced opponent to date, Adel Altamimi. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Altamimi (8-6 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) has seen the judges’ scorecards only once in his pro career.
“Every fight has their go-to things,” Agazarm said. “There’s something to be said about when you turn up the heat a little bit. You put the sun right in their eyes and you get it as hot as possible. It’s like, ‘How good are you?’ That’s really what I’m going to do. I’m going to start it with as hot as I possibly can and sustain that for the entire duration until he either gives up or the final bell rings.”
Bellator 238 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Check out MMA Junkie’s full pre-fight interview with Agazarm above.
AJ Agazarm reflects on 'white belt' year in MMA heading into Bellator 238
