Linton Vassell says he's night and day difference from first title shot to Bellator 186

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – Linton Vassell has been in this position before three years ago.

But the difference between that Vassell (18-5 MMA, 7-2 BMMA) and the one who will challenge for the light heavyweight title held by Ryan Bader (23-5 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) at Bellator 186, he says, is night and day.

In 2014, Vassell was strong early against then-champion Emmanuel Newton, but gassed out late and was finished in the fifth round. But after moving most of his training from his native England to South Florida, things are looking a lot different these days.

“I don’t even consider the two the same,” Vassell today told MMAjunkie. “When I fought Emmanuel Newton, I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t training to my best. The training partners I had, some of them were welterweights. … I thought I was ready because I felt fit.

“Now I’m in South Florida training with some of the best. I feel like my time has just come perfectly right now. … I was the biggest name on my team back in England, and I just wasn’t getting pushed.”

Bellator 186 takes place Friday at Bryce Jordan Center on Penn State’s campus in University Park, Pa. The main card airs on Spike following prelims on MMAjunkie. Vassell’s shot at Bader’s 205-pound title is the main event.

Some of those best in Florida that Vassell mentioned include the likes of former UFC champs Luke Rockhold and Rashad Evans. And Vassell is hoping that work helps him against another standout wrestler in Bader.

In May, Vassell submitted former light heavyweight champion Liam McGeary. Then he had to wait on Bader’s title win over Phil Davis at Bellator 180 to find out if he was going to get a shot at the belt. It was supposed to be Muhammad Lawal, but thanks to injuries and shuffling, Vassell got the call.

“It was so satisfying to actually, one, get the win over Liam McGeary – a top, top boy, a former world champion,” Vassell said. “But it was amazing to actually finally get the nod and say I’m fighting Ryan Bader for the title. They said it might be ‘King Mo,’ so I put a tweet out to say, ‘This has to be fake news.’ I don’t know what happened, but obviously I got the nod. But everything went to plan.”

Now that he has the shot against Bader, he’ll clearly be watching out for the champ’s standout wrestling. But other than that, it’s Bader’s big-fight resume Vassell is impressed with.

“He has experience,” he said. “He’s fought some of the toughest. But other than that, I feel like we match up perfectly because my style, I feel like no one can imitate it.”

For more from Vassell, check out the video above.

And for more on Bellator 186, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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