Bellator 240’s Lewis Long calls out Dillon Danis, wants to show him ‘real MMA grappling’
The Welshman is set to make his second Bellator appearance this weekend but already has a future opponent in mind.
Lewis Long wants to put recent injury woes behind him and move forward in the Bellator welterweight division.
The 30-year-old spent years grafting on the regional scene and was a mainstay in Cage Warriors for a significant period of time. During his earlier career, Long (17-5) fought and defeated notable names in Europe including Matt Inman, Ryan Scope and Che Mills while racking up a very respectable record. In July 2018, he became the first-ever Welshman to sign for Bellator when they were building up their European roster but only made his debut a few months ago due to being hurt. He dominated Walter Gahadza in that fight on the way to a first round submission victory which made him realise the fortunate position he is in.
“Fighting for Bellator has completely reinvigorated me,” stated Long. “The opportunity to stand up and do what I love in front of so many people around the world on such a prestigious show is amazing. I was so pleased to get my first win in the promotion after a layoff and prove that I belong at this level. I’ve devoted my life to martial arts so to get the rewards now is incredible.”
Long first got into martial arts at the age of ten when he took up judo before progressing to kickboxing, Muay Thai and BJJ. He was training all of those disciplines separately until he met someone who was a professional fighter and they talked him into taking a fight after a couple of MMA training sessions. Long thought ‘F—k it’, completed the bout and the rest is history.
Not long into his career, Long felt the urge to open his own gym because he was constantly waiting and relying on others who often let him down. There was many an occasion where training partners would be late or wouldn’t show up altogether. Back in those days when the sport was much smaller, he’d have to travel 50 miles just to train with a purple belt. It was three professional fights before he knew what a single leg takedown was so he needed to work in a more structured environment.
Long now has his own gym called The MAT Academy in Wales where they have numerous black belts, wrestling coaches, thai coaches and they are able to teach from a respectable facility. His gym wife, Wayne Samways, helps him out a lot in the running of the gym which helps ease the workload a little. Some may say that it must be hard balancing being a fighter and trying to sustain a profitable gym, but Long doesn’t thing it has impacted on his performances inside the cage.
“I train alongside my students but I’ve employed some of the most dedicated and knowledgeable coaches out there to oversee our training,” discussed Long. “There are times when it is hard to dial things back but people remind me about the bigger picture. I guess I just have a fighter’s mindset to push through but that is why I’ve got faith in my coaches.”
On Saturday night, Long will be making his second Bellator appearance against Oliver Enkamp at Bellator 240. The 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland plays host to the card as the promotion stage their first event in Europe of the year. Enkamp (8-2) signed to Bellator after getting released from the UFC and had an impressive debut in June which was also against Walter Gahadza. He finished the Englishman in the first round by submission which demonstrated his dangerous grappling skills. Long has lots of respect for Enkamp due to the way he carries himself but has faith in his talent to seal another victory.
“Enkamp comes with a big following and he’s had years of active competition,” mentioned Long. “I feel that he’s got a few tricks up his sleeve and he’ll be coming to take my head off but I’m not letting that happen. I’m confident and I think that my preparation will leave me with an answer to every question he throws my way. On Saturday, I’ll get the job done whenever and wherever I get an opening.”
As well as winning this fight, another of Long’s goals for the year is to host a charity day at his gym to help all of those affected by the flooding in his local area due to recent bad weather. His other main ambitions this calendar are to stay healthy and take opportunities which come his way. The Welshman also has a future opponent in mind. Long has finished 10 of his 17 wins by submission which has made him want to test himself against one of the best grapplers close to his weight.
“I’d love to fight Dillon Danis,” said Long. “I’ve had many wins by submission and most of those are rear-naked chokes. A fight with Dillon would raise my profile because many people follow what he does. He’s a great pure grappler but I want to introduce him to real MMA grappling!”
Bellator 240: Primus vs. Bungard is being shown via tape-delay on Sky Sports Arena at 3am GMT early on Sunday morning for fans in the UK and Ireland. It will be broadcast on Paramount Network and DAZN, also on tape-delay, in the US from 10pmET/9c.