Off Guard: Tywan Claxton eager to run things back with Emmanuel Sanchez

Tywan Claxton is dead set on rematching the man who handed him his first pro loss.

Claxton (6-1 MMA, 6-1 BMMA) faced Emmanuel Sanchez (19-4 MMA, 11-3 BMMA) in the opening round of the Bellator featherweight grand prix at Bellator 226 in September, where he was submitted by Sanchez in the second round.

He was able to bounce back with a win over Braydon Akeo at December’s Bellator 235 and now finds daily motivation in improving his game in hopes to eventually run things back with Sanchez.

“This is year three for me as a professional fighter,” Claxton told MMA Junkie. “Year three, you got to put up or shut up, so I’m putting in the extra hours and I’m making the sacrifices and making the lifestyle changes that I kind of need to make to beat the (expletive) out of Sanchez because I need that loss back. I need that fight back, so that’s my motivating factor. I don’t want to go to training? I got a picture of Sanchez right there.”

There’s something about a fighter suffering their first professional loss, but for Claxton, it wasn’t just about losing, it was what Sanchez had said prior to the fight.

“He said something: He said, ‘He doesn’t know how it feels to lose, and I can’t wait to let him feel that, to take that away from him,’” Claxton said. “That stuck with me, and that’s something, before it’s all said and done – he showed a lot of respect after that fight, he did, and I appreciated it and because of him, I’m a better fighter – but when it’s all said and done, that statement right there, he’s going to end up on the other end of something that just ain’t pretty.”

Sanchez is scheduled to rematch Daniel Weichel in the quarterfinals of the featherweight grand prix at Bellator 241 in March, so for now, it may be a while before Claxton gets his wish, but he insists it’s on his agenda.