Melvin Manhoef is on a quest for gold. The long time MMA and kickboxing veteran is about to strap on the gloves again this week, as he will face Alexandru Negrea in the headlining bout of Bellator’s first ever Bellator Kickboxing card, and the promotion’s first trip overseas. The event won’t show up on TV screens in the US until a week later, but it’s still a moment that the Surinamese-born Dutch fighter felt was just too big to pass up, even with a shot at the Bellator middleweight title dead in his sights.
“Yeah, this is what we’re doing it for,” Manhoef said of his May 20th title shot against Rafael Carvalho. “I’m thankful that they gave me the opportunity, you understand. And I have to do what I do best now, and this is to do the same thing again. I’m very focused now on the title fight, but before I have the 16th of April fight, and then I will go for the title fight.”
But entering into his last bout, a KO win over Hisaki Kato, Manhoef was adamant that kickboxing was nowhere on his radar. He was devoted to MMA and that was the end of the story.
“It doesn’t change, it’s still the same.” Manhoef said when asked if he was still focused on MMA. “But there is one small thing that Bellator is trying to help and lift kickboxing in the United States. And this is the first event, so the asked me and I said, “Okay.” For the first event I wanted to do something also good for kickboxing and that’s why I accepted the fight. And after this fight I’m still going to be only focusing on my MMA coach. But, to be part of it, for the first kickboxing match from Bellator? I’m glad to be part of it.”
Of course, a big part of why Manhoef is in position to headline a kickboxing card and get a shot at Bellator gold is all down to his upset win over Kato at Bellator 146. Without that win, it’s hard to see how any of this would be possible.
“I really had to win the fight.” Manhoef reflected when asked about the importance of beating Kato. “It put me in a good spot. Believing in people is one of the things that Bellator always did for me, and now that I can, I will give something back. This is, for me, the moment that I have been waiting for and now is the time for me, you know, this is one of my final goals, before I hang up my gloves. And I think that I have to do this for maybe a year more. Win this title, defend it, and then hang my gloves up as a champion. So, for me this is a dream come true.”
And the stars couldn’t have aligned any better than to have Rafael Carvalho holding the belt when Manhoef got that win. The former champion Brandon Halsey was a potential stylistic nightmare for Manhoef. Against Carvalho, his odds may be much better.
“Yes it’s the best for myself.” Manhoef said of Carvalho’s title win. “For me it’s much better because the champion before was a wrestle-guy, you understand? So, for me this is better; the striking and all these kind of things. Of course he has this BJJ background and all these kinds of things, but he likes to bang, he likes to strike. And he’s strong, he’s also tall just like Kato, but you know, tall guys also can fall, it doesn’t matter. I think, stylistically, this is the best fight for me and also for the audience the best. We’re both going to come and bang.”
If he does win the title, however, Manhoef isn’t going to retire right away, the Dutchman sounded very resolute in his plans to defend the title at least once before walking away from MMA.
“I don’t want to win it, I want to defend it also.” Manhoef stated when asked if he’d retire immediately after winning the belt. “Because I think I’m still in shape while doing what I do and enjoying it, because that’s, for me, important. I do enjoy it also. And I think that’s one of the things that keeps the drive still there for training every day, dying everyday in the gym. So, that’s why I think I want to win it and defend it once. ‘And still champion!'”
Finally, and with a h/t to BE mod Lucas Bourdon, I asked Manhoef about his classic kickboxing war with Ashwin Balrak. You can check out the fight below as well.
“Ashwin is a pretty cool guy, you know, and that was a great fight. But, I have fought so many battles, but I think one of the coolest battles that I fought was still Sakuraba. But Ashwin was also cool to fight. It was certainly very long ago, and at that time I had, not so much respect of Balrak. Because, I find him always finding and picking his points and not coming to fight, you know? And that time that I fought him, it was a hard fight. I was like, “Yeah…” That fight was so hard. And afterwards we became friends and yeah, he’s a cool guy to fight. It was a cool fight, it was a cool fight.”