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Nah-Shon Burrell
Nah-Shon Burrell has the unique experience of five combined fights with Bellator MMA and the UFC over a two-year stretch. Unfortunately, he’s no longer a member of either organization.
Burrell (11-5), who also fought four times for Strikeforce, is a now signed with CFFC, where he’s set to challenge champ Lyman Good (17-3) for the welterweight title at CFFC 48 on Saturday. The main card airs on CBS Sports Network at Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City, N.J.
Good is a solid fighter with plenty of big-show experience. Burrell said he views him as a significant test, but ultimately, he said, the fight is a building block to where “The Rock-N-Rolla” wants to be most: back with the UFC.
“I like to test myself a little bit,” Burrell told MMAjunkie. “Obviously, you can’t fight superstars all the time, but when you can fight somebody of this caliber, you take the fight because it will help you get up to the top, and that’s the UFC.”
Burrell went 1-1 under the UFC banner in 2013. He was uncharacteristically released after just one octagon defeat but regrouped and signed with Bellator.
His stint with the organization was short-lived. Burrell fought for Bellator three times in 11 months before the organization released him in October. The release came on the heels of an underwhelming unanimous-decision loss to Michael Page at Bellator 128.
Burrell said he has no regrets about how his short Bellator career went down. However, he said he’s pleased to have parted ways with the company because the relationship would have limited his ability to make a UFC return.
“I was told I was let go; I guess they weren’t happy with that fight that I had against Page,” Burrell said. “Either way it didn’t really matter. My main goal is to fight for the UFC. If I’m locked down in a contract with Bellator, then it’s going to be a lot harder. There are pros and cons. A con is I lost and I got cut, but the main pro is I now have the opportunity to reinvent myself and get back to it.”
The 25-year-old said he expects to show some new aspects of his game at CFFC 48. Burrell has recorded just three victories in his past eight fights dating back to May 2012 and has struggled to find consistency at the top level.
Good is hardly a pushover opponent, but that’s exactly what Burrell wants. He said he has no interest in favorable matchups, and if he’s going to make it back to the elite level of the sport, then he must compete against fighters of Good’s caliber.
“That was a pretty tough stretch, but I took it on the chin, and everything that happened could be easily explained in my mind and from my perspective,” Burrell said. “I just had to buckle down and get back to it. That’s another reason why I wanted to fight Lyman. In a sport like this, you don’t do yourself any favors by ducking fights.
“If you hope to be at the pinnacle of the sport one day, you’re going to be tested. I don’t want to fight a whole bunch of scrubs then make it back to the show then find out I can’t compete with these guys. I want tough guys now.”
Burrell said his advances in recent months aren’t solely physical. He’s certainly worked to add new techniques to his arsenal, but Burrell points to the mental side of the sport as the biggest hurdle he’s cleared.
“Every loss or rocky fight that I’ve had, I’ve mentally beat myself up beforehand,” Burrell said. “It was a lot of mental stuff. I don’t think I ever came into a fight physically out of shape or outmatched. I was mentally beating myself up and psyching myself out. I worked on the mental aspect of the game. You can be a physical freak, but you won’t go anywhere without a strong mentality.”
Good has been far more consistent that Burrell in recent years. He’s dropped just two of his past 10 bouts and became CFFC’s welterweight champ with a submission win over Micah Terrill at CFFC 45 in February.
Although Good has competed against the likes of Ben Askren, Rick Hawn, Jim Wallhead and other notables, he’s never suffered a stoppage loss. Burrell thinks he has what it takes to be the first to knock out or submit him. If he can do that, he’ll deliver the message he wants to send.
“I know for certain that if you put down a guy like Lyman, you’re going to be on somebody’s radar,” Burrell said. “You put on a show and finish the fight. Then you’re going to be on some pretty big radars.”
For more on CFFC 48, check out the MMA Rumors section of the site.