Following the only fight of his to go to a decision versus Ty-Wan Claxton at Bellator 242 in July of 2020, lightweight Jay Jay Wilson has gotten back on a streak of finishes in his last two fights.
First against Sergei DeBari at Bellator 253 in November 2020, then versus Pedro Carvalho at Bellator 257 five months later, Wilson was able to get ground and pound finishes, bringing his total to seven in eight fights.
“2021 wasn’t the greatest year for me,” Wilson told MMAWeekly.com. It could be better, but I had some good fights (the last 15 months) and some good finishes against some good names, so overall you can’t complain.”
Though he only had one fight in 2021, Wilson did make a lot of improvements in his game and feels like he’s the best version of himself yet.
“I feel like my striking, my grappling, my wrestling, my overall game and my confidence have grown over this year,” said Wilson. “Me in 2022 is definitely better than 2021.
“I have specific coaches for wrestling, Jiu-Jitsu, and striking, and I work with them separately on a daily basis, so I improve every aspect of my game on a daily basis.”
At Bellator 276 on March 12 in St. Louis, Missouri, Wilson (8-0) faces his most experienced opponent yet in Gadzhi Rabadanov (16-4-2) in a main card 155-pound bout.
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“He’s a wrestler who likes to dominate on top using heavy top control, and I’m a Jiu-Jitsu black belt and submission grappler, so this is a great match-up that could wind up in a really cool finish – a spectacular finish – for me,” Wilson said.
Looking forward, Wilson has a roadmap set out for himself where he’d like to see his career go in the coming year.
“Right now I have a road map kind of set up in my mind,” said Wilson. “I’m just going to speak that into existence.
“I’m going to finish this guy, get in the Top 10 rankings, then fight a Top 5 ranked guy and get to number one contender by the end of this year, so that next year I can be looking for a title shot.”
Jay Jay Wilson looking to score a ‘spectacular finish’ at Bellator 276