Henry Corrales is keeping his mind clear and his focus sharp ahead of his featherweight clash with Juan Archuleta at Bellator 238.
LOS ANGELES – Some fighters work off instinct and fight with their feelings, but [autotag]Henry Corrales[/autotag] isn’t one of them.
The featherweight, who takes on Juan Archuleta at Bellator 238 on Saturday, explained taking that approach hasn’t done him many favors in the past.
“I try not to really focus so much on my feelings, because they’ve led me wrong ways in the past,” he told MMA Junkie. “So I just work on mastering my craft, training and just enjoying (expletive). I’m not too worried about anything.
“I wanted to punch somebody, then doing it and getting into (expletive) trouble. I wanted to drink too much, then doing it and getting into (expletive) trouble. Just going by instincts and feelings is not good for me, so I don’t try to deal with that type of (expletive).”
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Instead, Corrales said, he’s focusing on the few controllable items that exist for a fighter in the leadup to a big event.
“There’s not a lot of things in my control,” he said. “I’m not going to think about who I want to fight, because I don’t turn down a fight, and I’ll fight any one of these (expletives). I don’t think about that stuff. I’m not that smart, so I can’t think about too much stuff. I just think about training, trying to eat the right foods, and being nice to my people around me. Simple (expletive).”
That simple, straightforward approach has clearly worked, with Corrales (17-4 MMA, 5-4 BMMA) now firmly established as one of the most dangerous men in Bellator’s stacked 145-pound division. His featherweight grand prix exit to Darrion Caldwell at Bellator 228 was his first defeat since 2016, and he said he is looking forward to serving up an action-packed encounter with fellow crowd-pleaser Archuleta (23-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) on Saturday night.
“I need to work on my wrestling. I’m not a Division-I wrestling champ, but it was a learning experience,” he said of his defeat to Caldwell. “Even though it didn’t go my way, I definitely enjoyed it. Typical life hardships, you learn a lot from – so that was good. I’m really grateful that I got another big fight. That’s awesome. I’m really pumped. It’s just like any fight. Not only do I predict – I envision and I lust over a lot of violence. So that’s what I’m looking forward to.”
In the main event, women’s featherweight champion [autotag]Julia Budd[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) defends her belt against [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (21-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), a former UFC and Strikeforce champ who is making her Bellator debut. Cyborg, regarded by many as the greatest women’s fighter in history, is a 4-1 favorite from the oddsmakers, and she’s nearly a unanimous pick from our 14 MMA Junkie editors, writers, radio hosts and videographers. Only one picker is taking Budd to retain her title in an upset.
In the co-main event, [autotag]Adam Borics[/autotag] (14-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) meets [autotag]Darrion Caldwell[/autotag] (13-3 MMA, 10-2 BMMA) in a quarterfinal fight in Bellator’s ongoing featherweight tournament. The fight nearly is a pick’em from the oddsmakers, and it’s close with our pickers, as well. Borics has just an 8-6 lead.
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In another featherweight fight, [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (23-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) is more than a 2-1 favorite against [autotag]Henry Corrales[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 5-4 BMMA). Both fighters are looking to rebound from losses in the tournament’s opening round. Archuleta has a big 12-2 advantage from our staff members.
Former UFC fighter [autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (18-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) makes his Bellator debut at bantamweight against [autotag]Alfred Khashakyan[/autotag] (11-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA). He’s nearly a 3-1 favorite, and all but one of our pickers is taking him to get off on the right foot in the promotion.
We have two unanimous picks on the main card. [autotag]Raymond Daniels[/autotag] (1-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) has the support of all 14 of our pickers in his welterweight bout against [autotag]Jason King[/autotag] (8-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).
And to open the main card, boxing standout [autotag]Ava Knight[/autotag] (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) is a unanimous pick against [autotag]Emilee King[/autotag] (3-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) in their women’s strawweight fight, which is Knight’s second pro MMA bout.
In the MMA Junkie reader consensus picks, Cyborg (57 percent), Borics (55 percent), Archuleta (79 percent), Pettis (82 percent), Daniels (62 percent) and Knight (71 percent) are the choices.
Check out all the facts and figures about Bellator 238, which takes place Saturday with a Julia Budd vs. Cris Cyborg title-fight main event.
The first Bellator event of the year goes down Saturday with Bellator 238, which takes place at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., with a main card that streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
In the main event, the only women’s featherweight champion in Bellator history, [autotag]Julia Budd[/autotag] (13-2 MMA, 7-0 BMMA), will attempt to continue her reign atop the division when she takes on her biggest test yet in former UFC champion [autotag]Cris Cyborg[/autotag] (21-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), who gets a title shot in her promotional debut.
The card also includes a matchup in the ongoing Bellator featherweight grand prix, as well as some other often-seen notables. For more on the numbers behind the card, check below for 30 pre-event facts about Bellator 238.
* * * *
Main event
Julia Budd
Budd’s only career losses came against current UFC bantamweight and featherweight champion Amanda Nunes and ex-titleholder Ronda Rousey.
Budd competes in her eighth Bellator featherweight bout, the second-most appearances in divisional history behind Arlene Blencowe (nine).
Budd enters the event on an 11-fight wining streak. She hasn’t suffered a defeat since November 2011.
Budd’s three consecutive Bellator title defenses are tied with Patricio Freire for second most among current champions behind Ilima-Lei Macfarlane (four).
Budd’s seven-fight Bellator winning streak is tied for the third-longest active streak in the company behind A.J. McKee (16) and Macfarlane (10).
Budd’s seven-fight Bellator winning streak in women’s featherweight competition is the longest active streak in the division.
Budd’s seven-fight Bellator winning streak is the second longest active streak among female fighters in the promotion behind Macfarlane (10).
Budd’s seven victories in Bellator women’s featherweight competition are most in divisional history.
Budd’s three stoppage victories in Bellator women’s featherweight competition are tied with Blencowe and Amanda Bell for most in divisional history.
Cris Cyborg
Cyborg can become the first in history to win titles in Bellator, UFC, Invicta FC and Strikeforce.
Cyborg can become the second in history to win titles in Bellator and UFC. Eddie Alvarez also accomplished the feat in the men’s lightweight division.
Cyborg makes her Bellator debut following a seven-fight UFC stint where she went 6-1 and held the promotion’s women’s featherweight title.
Cyborg’s four victories in UFC women’s featherweight competition are most in divisional history.
Cyborg outlanded her seven UFC opponents 460-148 in significant strikes.
Cyborg has earned 17 of her 21 career victories by knockout. She’s finished 10 of those wins in Round 1.
Co-main event
Darrion Caldwell
[autotag]Darrion Caldwell[/autotag] (14-3 MMA, 11-2 BMMA) is 5-0 in Bellator featherweight competition. He’s 7-0 in the weight class during his career.
Caldwell’s five-fight Bellator winning streak in featherweight competition is tied for the second-longest active streak in the division behind McKee (16).
Caldwell has earned five submission victories in Bellator competition. The company record is seven, which is currently held by Goiti Yamauchi.
Adam Borics
[autotag]Adam Borics[/autotag]’ (14-0 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) five-fight Bellator winning streak in featherweight competition is tied for the second-longest active streak in the division behind McKee (16).
Borics’ five-fight stoppage streak in Bellator competition is the longest among active fighters in the company.
Borics’ five stoppage victories in Bellator featherweight competition are tied for third most in divisional history behind McKee (11) and Patricio Freire (10).
Remaining main card
Juan Archuleta
[autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (23-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) was a three-division champion under the King of the Cage banner, holding titles at lightweight, featherweight and bantamweight.
[autotag]Sergio Pettis[/autotag] (18-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) makes his Bellator debut following a 14-fight UFC stint where he went 9-5.
Pettis earned all nine of his UFC victories by decision.
Pettis is the only fighter in UFC history to earn his first nine wins with the promotion by decision.
[autotag]Raymond Daniels[/autotag] (1-1 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), 39, is the oldest of the 12 scheduled main-card fighters.
Daniels was successful in his return to MMA competition after nearly 11 years when he won at Bellator Europe 1 in May.
[autotag]Ava King[/autotag] (3-4 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) is on a three-fight winning streak after starting her career 0-4.
Preliminary card
Aaron Pico
[autotag]Aaron Pico[/autotag] (4-3 MMA, 4-3 BMMA) is 4-2 since he dropped to the featherweight division in September 2017.
Pico has suffered all three of his career losses by stoppage.
We want your predictions for Saturday’s Bellator 238 event in Inglewood, Calif.
We want your predictions for Saturday’s Bellator 238 event in Inglewood, Calif.
Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Thursday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).
Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the Bellator 238 event staff predictions we release Friday ahead of the event. Bellator 238 takes place Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
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Make your picks for all five main card fights inside.
Former Bellator title challenger Juan Archuleta explains why he’s out to get revenge against Henry Corrales at Bellator 238 in California.
[autotag]Juan Archuleta [/autotag]wants to get one for the team.
The Bellator featherweight staple will get a chance on Jan. 25 to perhaps not settle the score, but at least start shifting things toward his side once he sets foot in the cage at Bellator 238 in Inglewood, Calif. Archuleta (23-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) is out to avenge the many defeats Bellator veteran [autotag]Henry Corrales[/autotag] has handed down to his teammates over the years.
“He’s beaten Seth Dikun twice, he beat Cody Bollinger, Aaron Pico, Georgi Karakhanyan. So yeah – that’s a good resume against us,” Archuleta told MMA Junkie. “He’s beaten every one of my teammates he’s fought. He’s got our number.
“He’s a knockout artist and he’s a guy that can take punishment to give punishment. He’s good at taking an ass-whooping and giving an ass-whooping like myself, so it brings up a tough challenge for me because mentally, everything is there for him. He’s beaten all my teammates and he’s undefeated against all my teammates. So it’s exciting for me. It lifts me up. I’m a fan of his, because when I started to fight MMA, I saw him fight in King of the Cage. So we’re going to bring a scrap, that’s for sure.”
It’s uncommon for fighters to face opponents who are 5-0 against their camps. Archuleta faces a unique challenge ahead of Bellator 238, and he and his teammates are looking forward to revisiting the tough test Corrales presents.
“They want me to get some revenge on him, of course,” Archuleta said. “It sucks when teammates lose, but here I am. I get to fight this guy I’ve been hoping to fight for a while now.”
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Although Archuleta can’t wait for Jan. 25 and is very much looking forward to handing Corrales a defeat, he has a great deal of respect for his opponent and thinks he’s one of the more genuine fighters on the Bellator roster.
“A guy like Henry is very respectful and you can’t help but love his style, love who he is as a person, and he’s definitely a role model in the sport,” Archuleta said. “(He’s) a guy that goes out there and wears his heart on his sleeve and goes out there to fight. (Fighters are) all sick in the head to begin with, so for a guy to be cool and casual when you see him, not trying to be the big fish in the pond all the time, he flies under the radar. He’s a cool guy for sure.”
Apart from revenge, the 32-year-old Archuleta will look to bounce back from his defeat to two-division champion Patricio Freire this past September. The loss to the champ snapped an impressive 18-fight winning streak for Archuleta.
“Losing always sucks,” he said. “No one wants to lose their money. No one wants to lose their jobs. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. I’m still fighting and I’m still moving on. All I have to do is go out there and show I’m a better athlete and fighter than I showed that night (against Freire).”
Former Bellator title challenger Juan Archuleta is not content with the frequency of the fights he’s been getting in Bellator.
[autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] wants to clock in more hours.
The former Bellator title challenger hasn’t been content with the amount of fights he’s been getting. Archuleta (23-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) last fought in September, where he lost to champ-champ Patricio “Pitbull” Freire in the co-main event of Bellator 228, and he was recently booked to fight Henry Corrales in the main card of Bellator 238 on Jan. 25 in Inglewood, Calif.
Archuleta hopes to see more contracts coming his way and less time in between fights heading into this new year.
“This is what I love doing, win or lose,” Archuleta said speaking with MMA Junkie. “I’ve told people before, it’s not the win or the loss that I’m looking at, I just want to go out there and perform at the best of my abilities. I love this sport, I love competing, I love fighting, and I just love to go out there and show off. The wins and loses don’t matter; it doesn’t matter if I win a belt or not. The thing that matters to me is having security and being able to go out there and perform.
“I’ve been telling Bellator since I signed with them, I don’t care to fight for the title. I just want to fight the best, and the best at every weight class, if I can. I want to stay active, and being with Bellator the last two years have been the slowest two years of my career, and it’s a little frustrating, but I have to deal with it. They don’t put on as many shows and they have so many fighters, so it sucks.
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“I want to stay active, so the jealousy of seeing like an ‘MVP’ (Michael Page) being able to compete so many times after he loses, hey, I’m asking for the same thing. And it’s not a money issue because when I first signed with them, I only fought three times in one year, so I know it’s not a money thing, it’s just they’re pushing people through.
“When I re-signed with (Bellator president Scott) Coker, he said I would be able to stay active and fight a lot, and I only fought three times last year, so that did hamper my performance going into the fight with ‘Pitbull.’ But at the same time, it is what it is. I can’t complain about it, just take the fights as they come. I don’t care about fighting for the title, I care about fighting the best guys out there and performing and fighting as much as I can to stay relevant.”
Archuleta joined Bellator in March 2018 and has since fought a total of six times for the promotion. If Archuleta doesn’t fight again by March – outside of his booked contest against Corrales, of course – the “The Spaniard” would have logged in seven fights in two years.
That kind of hustle is often seen across MMA, and many fighters consider it a common level of activity. Yet, for Archuleta, the perceived average doesn’t do it for him.
“Those guys just want to say they’re fighters,” Archuleta explained. “I do this for a living, this is my life – like after my loss I was in the gym the next week, going out and trying to expand the sport. I want to fight every month if I can, every two months if can. For me, three fights, it’s definitely not enough; four fights a year is barely enough. I want to fight five, six times a year.”
Archuleta admits he’s off to a good start being booked in January against fan-favorite Corrales. He’s hopeful 2020 is a year full of fights, even if it means jumping up and down in divisions or in and out of grand prix tournaments.
“When I re-signed my contract, they said they’d keep me active, and they were trying to book me on the Japan card but that fell through,” Corrales said. “So, we’ll see this year. The year is just starting, so we’ll find out how healthy I can stay and how active I can be.
“Like I said before, I’m a fan of the grand prix and everything that goes on with it. It’s an entertaining tournament, especially if it’s a weight class you fight in. If anyone gets pulled out, I would love to jump in, whether it’s 155, 145 or 135 the people that fall off the tournament.
“I definitely want to be in a position to fight the winner of the tournament next now that I’m out. Or I can jump in if someone gets hurt or whatever, so you know, it doesn’t matter what weight class I fight, it’s just who is the opponent and are they the best opponent I can get at the time.”
Henry Corrales predicts Bellator 238 fight against Juan Archuleta will bring the noise.
[autotag]Henry Corrales[/autotag]’ most recent performance wasn’t his best.
On Jan. 25, the featherweight contender returns to action at Bellator 238 against [autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag]. The fresh matchup presents the opportunity to get back into the win column, but Corrales (17-4 MMA, 5-4 BMMA) is keeping his most recent defeat in the forefront of his mind.
At Bellator 228 in September, Corrales dropped a unanimous decision to former bantamweight champ Darrion Caldwell in the opening round of the promotion’s featherweight grand prix tournament.
The Arizona-based fighter uses the Caldwell bout as a mental blueprint on what not to do this time around. Corrales thinks he was too hesitant in his approach and should have been more aggressive.
“It was a good learning experience,” Corrales told MMA Junkie. “He did a good job of avoiding my strengths. I was trying to get in there and bang. He did a great job of shutting down any type of fight. He had great movement, a lot of control, and a lot of strategic stalling on his part.
“I think I was just a little too patient. I thought I’d catch this guy slipping sooner or later. That time never came. (I was) a little bit bummed when it first happened, but I’ve had a lot worse to deal with in life than that (expletive). We’re all good.”
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Corrales thinks Archuleta (23-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) is best off trying to implement the same game plan Caldwell did. But Corrales thinks Archuleta can’t resistfrom the “stand and bang” approach.
“That’s the smart game plan, but this guy can’t help himself,” Corrales said. “He’s a (expletive) banger. He loves to fight. I’m going to have some opportunities. If I don’t, I’m going to make it happen.
“The last fight, I didn’t put myself in a position to make something happen. A great fighter makes things happen, and I wasn’t great that night. I believe in myself that I am a great fighter, so I’ve got to make some (expletive) happen. I’m ready.”
Corrales thinks the matchup with Archuleta will bring the energy. When the two 145-pounders step into the cage, fans should expect an exciting fight, he said.
“Me and this guy are known for bringing the noise,” Corrales said. “Bellator put this one together because it’s a fan-friendly fight. I think that we’re right. He’s a hard-worker, and I’m ready to get after it.”
Bellator 238 takes place Jan. 25 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
Bellator’s first event of the new year has had some featherweight firepower added to it.
Bellator’s first event of the new year has had some featherweight firepower added to it.
[autotag]Juan Archuleta[/autotag] (23-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) will take on [autotag]Henry Corrales[/autotag] (17-4 MMA, 5-4 BMMA) at Bellator 238 later this month. MMA Junkie confirmed the booking with a Bellator official following an initial report from ESPN.com.
Bellator 238 takes place Jan. 25 at The Forum in Inglewood, Calif. The main card streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.
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Archuleta this past September fought featherweight champion Patricio Freire in the opening round of Bellator’s ongoing 145-pound tournament. He went the distance with the champ, but lost a unanimous decision at Bellator 228. The setback was his first since March 2015 and snapped an 18-fight winning streak.
Henry Corrales
Corrales was bounced from the tournament on the same night as Archuleta with a decision loss to former bantamweight champion Darrion Caldwell. Prior to that, he had rebounded from a three-fight skid with five straight Bellator wins, including a 67-second knockout of highly touted prospect Aaron Pico at Bellator 214 nearly a year ago.
With the addition, the Bellator 238 card now includes:
MAIN CARD (DAZN, 10 p.m. ET)
Champ Julia Budd vs. Cris Cyborg – for women’s featherweight title
Adam Borics vs. Darrion Caldwell – featherweight tournament quarterfinal
