Nick Newell lauds treatment in Bellator MMA

Newell, 33, was born with his left arm ending just below the elbow, and across a 10-year pro career, strove to become famous not for being a One-Armed Swordsman, but for being a world-class fighter. He went 14-1 losing only to Justin Gaethje, and was given a fight on DWTNCS vs. 5-0 TAM wrestling coach Alex Munoz, who proved to be his Kryptonite.

UFC president Dana White had repeatedly expressed deep doubts about Newell being in the UFC, due to his congenital arm issue. Newell’s fans knew that the biggest effects of the missing forearm are 1. A devastating Guillotine, and 2. A profoundly compelling marketing tool.

But White, a man who does not ordinarily operate to appease the media, was unswayed.

If Nick Newell fights in the UFC, first thing they’re going to say is, ‘How could you let a guy with one arm fight in the UFC? You’re an idiot,’ White had said to gathered media members including Ken Pishna for MMA Weekly. I’m saying, what if something bad happened? – ‘Aren’t you guys supposed to be the best? All the best fighters in the world are in the UFC. So you’re going to throw a guy with one arm, fighting guys with two arms?’ You know what I’m saying? You guys know how to be negative. You know the negative stuff will happen if something bad happened. Might even be some of you to write it.

However, after two Round 1 choke victories, the second in Bellator, Newell was awarded a 4-fight contract, and has a home for the rest of his career.

Now he’s happy.

It felt good to be treated like a human by [Bellator CEO Scott Coker] and not just some novelty act that doesn’t belong, said Newell to Damon Martin for MMA Fighting. It felt really good to be acknowledged for my skills by what I believe is going to be the No. 1 mixed martial arts organization in the world. I think him and Rich [Chou] truly believe in my skills, and I’m ready to go out there and do my thing and be a part of something special in Bellator. I don’t want to go anywhere else. This is where I want to be. This is where I want to fight until I’m done fighting.

“I bring a lot of eyes when I fight, and I’m entertaining and I have an interesting story. I am a skilled, legitimate mixed martial artist. I am amongst the elite in the world. Corey Browning fought two other guys they signed and had on long term deals as prospects, and he beat both of them. He went against me and the opposite happened. I won, and I won impressively. They saw the value in me. They’ve seen what I’m capable of, and they’ve seen my other fights and the people I’ve beat and the records of the people I’ve beat. I haven’t been beating guys with s****y records. I’ve been beating guys with good, winning records. I’ve been doing so impressively.

Newell’s focus is now on becoming the Bellator lightweight champion, one fight at a time.