Pierre Daguzan – Syndication Server

Pierre Daguzan wonders if he’s being overlooked by Cass Bell ahead of Bellator 235

Pierre Daguzan was born in France, has lived in China and fought there and India and Alaska. It might seem odd he’s now a Hawaiian.

HONOLULU – [autotag]Pierre Daguzan[/autotag] was born in France, has lived in China and fought there and India and Alaska. So it might seem a little odd that now he’s a Hawaiian.

Daguzan met his wife when he was in China, and when she wanted to return to her native Hawaii, they made the move. It may have been the best thing for his MMA career, given the type of training partners he’s had since then, including former UFC featherweight champion Max Holloway.

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It also meant Daguzan (5-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) could take part in Bellator’s open tryouts in Hawaii earlier this fall. He was one of 10 fighters to earn a shot with the promotion, and Friday he’ll take on Cass Bell (4-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) at Bellator 235 (“Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops 2019”), which takes place at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The main card airs on Paramount and streams on DAZN following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Bell is one of Bellator’s home-grown fighters and is a highly touted prospect at 4-0. Daguzan is just 5-3, but he cautioned to not let those numbers fool anyone – particularly his opponent.

To hear from Daguzan about Friday’s fight, check out the full interview above.

Bellator 235: Pierre Daguzan full pre-fight interview

Bellator’s Hawaii cards continue to build with additions from recent open tryouts

The two cards on Bellator’s Hawaii return next month continue to build with additions from the promotion’s recent open tryouts in Honolulu.

The two cards on Bellator’s return to Hawaii next month continue to build with additions from the promotion’s recent open tryouts in Honolulu.

The organization picked 10 total fighters from those open tryouts, and they’ll be part of the “Bellator: Salute the Troops” and Bellator 236 cards in December, the promotion today announced.

The fighters who earned shots with Bellator are featherweight [autotag]Braydon Akeo[/autotag], bantamweight [autotag]Pierre Daguzan[/autotag] (5-3 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), lightweight [autotag]Keoni Diggs[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), welterweight [autotag]Hunter Ewald[/autotag] (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), bantamweight [autotag]Kaylan Gorospe[/autotag] (0-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), lightweight [autotag]Scotty Hao[/autotag] (4-2 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), bantamweight [autotag]Cheyden Leialoha[/autotag] (7-1 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), bantamweight [autotag]Swayne Lunasco[/autotag] (7-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), flyweight [autotag]Jamie Thorton[/autotag] (6-5 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) and welterweight [autotag]Ben Wilhelm[/autotag] (3-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA).

Akeo (3-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA) gets a tough assignment right out of the gate against [autotag]Tywan Claxton[/autotag] (5-1 MMA, 5-1 BMMA). Claxton will be looking to rebound from the first loss of his career, a submission setback against Emmanuel Sanchez in the opening round of Bellator’s featherweight tournament in September. Akeo turned pro a year ago and is 3-0 out of the gate.

The latest “Bellator: Salute the Troops” lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (Paramount, DAZN 10 p.m. ET)

Josh Barnett vs. Ronny Markes
Toby Misech vs. Erik Perez
Veta Arteaga vs. Alejandra Lara
Braydon Akeo vs. Tywan Claxton

PRELIMINARY CARD (MMA Junkie, 8:45 p.m. ET)

[autotag]Cass Bell[/autotag] vs. Pierre Daguzan
Hunter Ewald vs. [autotag]Jonathan Pico[/autotag]
Jamie Thorton vs. [autotag]Tiani Valle[/autotag]

And the latest Bellator 236 lineup includes:

MAIN CARD (DAZN, 10 p.m. ET)

Champ Ilima-Lei Macfarlane vs. Kate Jackson – for women’s flyweight title
Derek Campos vs. A.J. McKee – featherweight tournament quarterfinal
Neiman Gracie vs. Kiichi Kunimoto
Bruna Ellen vs. Juliana Velasquez
Cheyden Leialoha vs. [autotag]Raufeon Stots[/autotag]

Preliminary MMA Junkie, 8:30 p.m. ET Edit Delete

Kaylan Gorospe vs. Swayne Lunasco
Keoni Diggs vs. Scotty Hao
Chas Dunhour vs. Nate Yoshimura
Spencer Higa vs. Kai Kamaka III
[autotag]Kona Oliveira[/autotag] vs. Ben Wilhelm
Dustin Barca vs. Brandon Pieper
Nainoa Dung vs. Zach Zane