Juan Archuletawants to get one for the team.
The Bellator featherweight staple will get a chance on Jan. 25 to perhaps not settle the score, but at least start shifting things toward his side once he sets foot in the cage at Bellator 238 in Inglewood, Calif. Archuleta (23-2 MMA, 5-1 BMMA) is out to avenge the many defeats Bellator veteran Henry Corrales has handed down to his teammates over the years.
“He’s beaten Seth Dikun twice, he beat Cody Bollinger, Aaron Pico, Georgi Karakhanyan. So yeah – that’s a good resume against us,” Archuleta told MMA Junkie. “He’s beaten every one of my teammates he’s fought. He’s got our number.
“He’s a knockout artist and he’s a guy that can take punishment to give punishment. He’s good at taking an ass-whooping and giving an ass-whooping like myself, so it brings up a tough challenge for me because mentally, everything is there for him. He’s beaten all my teammates and he’s undefeated against all my teammates. So it’s exciting for me. It lifts me up. I’m a fan of his, because when I started to fight MMA, I saw him fight in King of the Cage. So we’re going to bring a scrap, that’s for sure.”
It’s uncommon for fighters to face opponents who are 5-0 against their camps. Archuleta faces a unique challenge ahead of Bellator 238, and he and his teammates are looking forward to revisiting the tough test Corrales presents.
“They want me to get some revenge on him, of course,” Archuleta said. “It sucks when teammates lose, but here I am. I get to fight this guy I’ve been hoping to fight for a while now.”
Although Archuleta can’t wait for Jan. 25 and is very much looking forward to handing Corrales a defeat, he has a great deal of respect for his opponent and thinks he’s one of the more genuine fighters on the Bellator roster.
“A guy like Henry is very respectful and you can’t help but love his style, love who he is as a person, and he’s definitely a role model in the sport,” Archuleta said. “(He’s) a guy that goes out there and wears his heart on his sleeve and goes out there to fight. (Fighters are) all sick in the head to begin with, so for a guy to be cool and casual when you see him, not trying to be the big fish in the pond all the time, he flies under the radar. He’s a cool guy for sure.”
Apart from revenge, the 32-year-old Archuleta will look to bounce back from his defeat to two-division champion Patricio Freire this past September. The loss to the champ snapped an impressive 18-fight winning streak for Archuleta.
“Losing always sucks,” he said. “No one wants to lose their money. No one wants to lose their jobs. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. I’m still fighting and I’m still moving on. All I have to do is go out there and show I’m a better athlete and fighter than I showed that night (against Freire).”
