Bellator 301 headliner Yaroslav Amosov on perfection, family and inspiring people in Ukraine

CHICAGO – Some fighters might start to feel the pressure of being unbeaten after six or eight or 10 or a dozen wins out of the gate.

For Yaroslav Amosov, that number is 27 straight to open his MMA career. That’s a dozen, plus another dozen, and three more after that. In other words, it’s a lot of fights to win in a row at any level, let alone the level that leads to the Bellator welterweight title.

But Amosov said the pressure of 27-0 doesn’t get to him.

“(Being undefeated) doesn’t matter,” Amosov told MMA Junkie and other media members at the pre-fight media day for Bellator 301. “I want to fight everyone. Being 27-0 is great, of course, but I just want to fight. If you’re a fighter, you must win every fight. When I go into the cage, I want to win.”

Amosov (27-0 MMA, 8-0 BMMA) talked his welterweight title fight against challenger Jason Jackson (16-4 MMA, 7-1 BMMA), which headlines Bellator 301, as well as being undefeated, the importance of his family being with him during training camp, and being an inspiration to people in his home country of Ukraine, which has been at war with Russia for more than a year.

Check out Amosov’s full interview in the video above ahead of Bellator 301, which takes place Friday at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Bellator 301.