Reading between the lines of Emanuel Newton’s unique message, the ex-champ probably didn’t train as hard as he could have for recent fights.

Newton (25-8-1 MMA, 8-2 BMMA), one of four fighters set for Bellator’s upcoming single-night light-heavyweight tournament, is an intense – and some would say zealous – presence and said the universe was telling him to train his spirit more than his body.

“So that’s what I was more about these past three or four fights was more training of my spirit, believing in myself in a different way,” he told MMAjunkie.

The result? Newton won the Bellator light heavyweight title, and then followed up with two impressive finishes in subsequent defenses.

But in his most recent outing, upstart Liam McGeary outpointed him and took his belt.

Now, he’s taking a hard look at his methods. The prospect of a one-night tournament, where he’ll fight twice over the course of a few hours if he advances past the opening round, is nothing to take lightly.

“It’s time for me to step back into that fleshy realm and put in the hard training and put in the proper diet and mindset,” he said.

Matchups aren’t set for the competition, which takes place Sept. 19 at Bellator 142 at SAP Center in San Jose (main card fights air on Spike TV following prelims on MMAjunkie). But Newton said he won’t be pulling previous stunts, like eating one (sort of) meal on the day of a fight.

Going back to the “fleshy realm,” he hopes to get back in step.

Check out the full conversation above.

And for more on Bellator 142, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.