HONOLULU – When Toby Misech woke up Friday, he had no idea he would be headlining Bellator 235 later that night.
But thrust into the spotlight with just a few hours’ notice that he was elevated from co-feature to main event, Misech took major advantage against a highly touted new Bellator signing in Erik Perez.
Misech (12-7 MMA, 3-2 BMMA) drilled Perez (19-7 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) with a vicious left that had the nine-fight UFC veteran on his butt on the canvas immediately. Misech paused for a second, then followed Perez to the ground and landed a thunderous second punch and a couple more for good measure.
The first-round knockout brought the fans at Bellator 235 (“Bellator and USO Present: Salute the Troops 2019”) to their feet at Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu. The show was filled with locally stationed military members.
Those same fans found out moments earlier that the planned headliner between Josh Barnett and Ronny Markes was called off when Barnett was declared too ill to fight by the commission.
But somehow, Misech seemed to make up for it to spoil Perez’s Bellator debut.
“I said from the beginning I knew I was going to catch him,” Misech, from Hawaii, told MMA Junkie. “But I was expecting a longer fight. I watched his fights. He takes beatings, and he’s hard to finish. I was expecting a little bit longer fight, but eventually I would have caught him.”
Misech took all the steam out of any push Bellator may have wanted to give Perez with a win. But he doesn’t necessarily think he ought to get the same kind of push in return.
The way he sees it, he’s been fighting big names all along, anyway. After a decision loss to former champion Eduardo Dantas earlier this year, the Perez knockout has Misech back in a big way.
“We don’t get the recognition we need and we want,” he said. “They’ve been giving me top contenders my whole career. I just feel like they think I’m a stepping stone. But no matter what, I always come to fight. That should put me closer – I hope.”
