Looking back on his 2022, light-heavyweight Sully Cauley couldn’t be happier with how the year turned out.
Not only was Cauley able to maintain his undefeated streak to start his career, but he also continued his trend of not having to go to a decision in any of his victories.
“It was a good year for me,” Cauley told MMAWeekly.com. “Anytime you can come away with three wins, especially three finishes, it’s a good year. I’ve been moving forward in my career at a pace I want to be. 2022 was great and I’m really excited about 2023.”
Having maintained an active schedule over the past year has helped Cauley become an even more dangerous fight for his opponents in 2023.
“I’m vastly improved,” said Cauley. “My striking has gotten better, my grappling has gotten better, and I feel like my biggest area of improvement has been my ability to mix the two together and keep people guessing. I’ve gotten a lot better and I’m continuing to get a lot better.
“Assuming I don’t have a fight that ends in the first couple minutes I think people are going to see a varied skillset at a relentless pace.”
On March 31 in Temecula, California, Cauley (5-0) will seek to keep his undefeated streak alive when he faces Luke Trainer (6-1) in a 205-pound main card fight at Bellator 293.
“He’s tall and he’s a decent striker, so a guy that size presents some issues, but I really think I’m better than him everywhere,” Cauley said of Trainer. “I can out-strike him, I can definitely out-wrestle him, and I’m not impressed with his Jiu-Jitsu.
“I don’t think there’s one area that I need to make this fight happen to win. I’ve just got to go out there and mix it up on him, keep him guessing, not let him know what’s coming next, and I think I’m going to tear him up.”
While Cauley does have ideas of where he would like to see his 2023 take him, he chooses to focus on what is in front of him first and foremost.
“I’ve always been a one fight at a time type guy,” said Cauley. “We definitely have some ideas of where we want this year to take us, but if I knock Luke out I think it’s time for me to start stepping up and fighting guys in the Top 10, but my biggest priority is taking Trainer out and not looking past him.”
Sully Cauley believes he’s going to ‘tear Luke Trainer up’ at Bellator 293
