Juan Archuleta: Win over Corrales at Bellator 238 made me featherweight tournament alternate

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – Juan Archuleta has given himself a chance to get right back into the mix of things.

Archuleta (24-2 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) defeated Henry Corrales (17-5 MMA, 5-5 BMMA) at Bellator 238 by unanimous decision in a fight he said has now made him an alternate in the featherweight grand prix.

Both Archuleta and Corrales were eliminated in the first round of the tournament. Archuleta lost to Bellator 145-pound champ Patricio Freire in September. Corrales lost to Darrion Caldwell on the same night.

And though his fight with Corrales never was officially pegged as a fight for an alternate spot, Archuleta said the win has given him the opportunity to fill in if anyone drops out of the tournament.

“That was the thing – taking this fight with Henry was being the alternate, securing my alternate spot for the tournament,” Archuleta said after the fight. “I knew that the winner out of this one – I mean me and (Corrlaes) could have fought ‘Pitbull,’ (Freire), either or, vice versa – so that was first and foremost, making sure I secure my alternate spot in the featherweight grand prix. And now, going forward, it’s all comers are welcome.”

The fight drew numerous boos from the crowd. But for Archuleta, whose loss to Freire was his first in more than five years, getting the win was the most important thing.

The bout almost slipped away from him when he was dropped a couple of times late. But it wasn’t enough to secure Corrales the victory.

“Of course I wanted to go out there and cause chaos, cause ruckus, but I mean, I just came off a world title loss,” Archuleta said. “Honestly, I had to put that behind me and start the baby steps going forward again. And a guy like Henry – you guys seen: He hit me on the spot and it dropped me. He hit me harder than ‘Pitbull,’ and I feel like I took ‘Pitbull’s’ hardest hit. I think Corrales hits a lot harder. Look at him when he missed – he went flying to the third row. So he was definitely looking to take me out. So was I (trying to take him out). But you’ve got to pick and choose when you’re going to do that.

“(The fans are) here because they want to be entertained, right? And I promised them entertainment. I’m not going to lie, and I wanted to. But, you know, I got sense talked into me. I’m not going to go out there and be, as much as I wanted to create chaos once again, I had to stick to the game plan to get the win, and that’s what’s most important.”