Rico's excitement doesn't end there. After this fight he was finally able to announce that he has signed with Bellator. Now this is for his pro debut which Bellator does not sign many fighters for their debut. To us in New England there is no surprise there with Rico going 10-3 in his amateur career. Of his 10 wins he has won 6 of them by way of the fist and the 4 by submission. One thing is for certain he does not like to let it go to decision and that is exactly they calibre fighter Bellator wants. I asked Rico what we can expect in his pro debut and he told me "In my first fight for Bellator, I'm going to be bigger faster stronger and much more mentally prepared. I have great coaches, training partners and I will continue to train hard and get better daily." This is going to be huge opportunity for Rico and I can only imagine how dangerous in the cage he will be when he can use elbows and knees. Rico also announced that he will be making his debut in Uncasville Connecticut September 7th at Mohegan Sun. I then asked him if there is any added pressure making his pro debut for Bellator. Rico says "There's always some type of pressure when you care so much about making the people proud that helped you and support you but in the end the people that really care are just happy to be with me in my journey. I train incredibly hard so I will be very confident. I also have learned to enjoy the whole experience before and after the fight. I remind myself how much I love doing this and try to soak in every sec." With a great team as Sityodtong preparing him he will definitely be prepared for a war.
We are hoping to attend this Bellator so we can get you all closer to the cage and have the live updates. Take some time and watch Rico's last win here. "I'm going to love fighting for Bellator, and I'm going to harness the energy and get the W for my friends family training partners and for myself! exclaims Rico. Good luck to you Rico and we look forward to following you on your journey.