Brett Johns is a veteran of the fight game and has seen it all. It’s why he is taking the change of opponent at Bellator 285 in his stride. His original opponent James Gallagher has pulled out, and he will now take on Jordan Winski in the 3Arena.
That doesn’t mean he is done with Gallagher. In fact, it is the opposite. He desperately wants that fight and has called him out as his next opponent.
Ideally, Johns would love to be able to headline a Bellator card in Wales. The PFL went to Cardiff recently and featured Rory MacDonald. The Welsh fighters were up-and-comers looking to make a name for themselves.
Johns wants to do one better and thinks a headlining fight with Gallagher would sellout the newly opened Swansea Arena. He said it would be an “honour” to represent Welsh MMA as the headliner for a major promotion at home, and it would tick something off his career bucket list.
Brett made it very clear, though, that he is not looking past Winski and is grateful that he has stepped up. Johns said he would be naive not to respect him and suggested his awkward style is an even trickier matchup than his original opponent. As such, he is preparing for a 15-minute tough fight.
Staying Active
Johns hoped to fight four times in 2022, but his recent marriage meant that a mid-year fight wasn’t possible. He hopes to fight again in December and wants to stay as active as possible. His goal is to reach at least 30 professional fights, with his fight with Winski marking his 22nd bout.
Johns said as he is getting older, it is much harder to get back into camp the longer he stays away from the gym. After this fight, he plans to take a week off to visit Venice with his wife and then will get right back into camp to prepare for a possible December showdown.
Brett Johns Fight Night
Brett has aspirations of launching his own regional MMA promotion, and back in May was on the cusp of doing so before multiple venues let him down.
He was pleased with the fight card that he had put together and hoped to provide a platform for young Welsh talent to showcase their skills.
The venues pulling out were deflating for him as he felt he let coaches and fighters down at the last minute. But, undeterred, he still wants to bring people together to showcase Welsh MMA. He won’t make the same mistake twice, though and will be sure to have an ironclad venue before moving forward. Look for Johns to promote an event in early 2023.
Be sure to check out Brett Johns’ full interview with Ben Evans:
Interview With Brett Johns
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
