Bellator light heavyweight champ Emanuel Newton said he felt his legs weaken in the middle of a fight with Joey Beltran at this past Friday’s Bellator 124. It was an unfamiliar feeling made more acute by Beltran’s constant aggression.

Considering what he chose to do the day of the fight, however, it’s no surprise he didn’t feel completely up to snuff.

“I’m on this whole spiritual fix where I’m going off my spiritual energy in the fight instead of the energy in my flesh,” Newton told MMAjunkie Radio. “So I didn’t really eat that day. I had this new supplement called 30 For Life; it’s an all organic meal replacement shake, but it only has 110 calories in a scoop.

“So I was going off a protein shake in a fight, so I wasn’t able to be as aggressive or throwing as many shots as I wanted to, but it just goes to show how well I can adapt in a fight.”

Indeed, Newton (24-7-1 MMA, 7-1 BMMA) turned things around in just about the biggest way possible when he caught Beltran coming in with a spinning backfist. Beltran (15-11 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) immediately dropped to the canvas, bringing the champ his first title defense and his second win using the unconventional strike.

You’d think Newton would thank his lucky stars and put a little more fuel in his stomach the next time around, but the 30-year-old fighter isn’t convinced a lack of calories is to blame for his listless performance in the early rounds. Asked whether he would change things up the next time around, he seemed unsure.

“I don’t pay attention to what I want anymore,” he said. “I pay attention to my visions, my dreams, my deja vus, my coincidences, and everybody has them. You can’t say they’re not real. I think differently and I live differently. There’s a bigger picture than that that I’m not going to go into. I was on a cleanse trying to get rid of all the gook and the funk that grows inside our body, so I a little different for this fight. But we’ll see what the next fight holds.

“I definitely felt the difference in my legs. My mind was going no problem, but anybody who’s watched my past fights and watch this one, you can see I wasn’t as much on my toes. I was going more off of spiritual energy. My mind was great, but my legs weren’t the best and I knew I was going to get a knockout – I had foreseen it. My brethren had forseen it, and I’d had plenty of dreams to offer me confirmation that I would finish that fight. It was just a matter of time.”

In case you haven’t noticed, Newton is a deeply spiritual guy with some strong, if somewhat unique, convictions. To him, the idea of eating a full meal conflicts with a belief that people are programmed to eat three times a day, and that an overabundance of food leads to depression and unhappiness. Visions and intuition play a big part of his outlook about his work despite its inherent unpredictability.

But so far, Newton’s approach is paying big dividends in the promotion, especially when it leads to the type of highlight reel finishes that get fans talking.

“I see a lot more doors opening for me, and a lot more people wanting to watch me and wanting to be a part of my fan group,” he said. “I’m the only guy to knock guys out cold with two spinning backfists. So I definitely think people are starting to see I’m always dangerous. I always have my spinning strikes.”

The question now is how long he can belt considering the current competition in Bellator. Just before his win over Beltran, Liam McGeary won the Summer Series 205-pound tourney with an eye-popping reverse triangle to earn a shot at Newton’s belt. Then there are high-profile signees Tito Ortiz and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, who are far more experienced against world-class competition than Newton.

Jackson already has demurred at a possible meeting with Newton, but the champ is willing to take the fight if Bellator and the fans want it and the money is right on all sides. After his fight with McGeary, he said he would be open to the idea of fighting Jackson.

“I know (Quinton) ‘Rampage’ (Jackson) has been doing some movies and just opened his new gym, so I know he’s got a lot of things on his plate,” he said. “I don’t know when the fight between me and Rampage is going to happen. It’s just determined by what the fans want to see and whatever’s best for Bellator to help the organization continue to grow. I think (a McGeary) fight will happen this year.

“If (Bellator) wants to get it done and the money’s right on both ends and we come to an agreement that makes sense. The thing about me and Rampage fighting is Antonio’s going to step down, because he trains Rampage and they’re business partners, and then Antonio trains me and we’re business partners. There’s going to be a lot of interesting situations that arise if that fight comes into play. It’s just a matter of seeing what Bellator wants to do, how Rampage is feeling, what I want to do. There’s a lot of cards that have to be laid out on the table before that comes into play, but can that fight happen? I don’t see why not.”

For complete coverage of Bellator 124, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

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