Brandon Girtz faces an uphill task in the main event of Bellator 197 when he faces the 2 time former Lightweight Champion Michael Chandler at St. Charles, Mo. This opportunity arose after the current champion Brent Primus was injured and Girtz was called on to be the replacement. Brandon Girtz believes that he will deserve a title shot if he gets past the formidable Michael Chandler.
“People say they don’t care about the belt, they don’t, whatever, everybody cares about the belt,” Girtz said. “It’s not about the belt or the piece of metal, it’s just about being on top of your division. So I absolutely want that title shot after I beat Chandler and I believe I’ll be lined up for it. Has there been major talk about it? No. Have I even asked about it? No. Because right now I’m focused on Chandler and only Chandler. But do I believe with a win, definitely I believe I’m going to knock him out, does that warrant a shot at the title? Absolutely.
“And I think (officials) think that too, but they’re not going to put themselves in a place right now and say, ‘You beat him, you get this.’ We know how promotions work and everybody gets told things at times and they don’t always work out how they’re said. So I haven’t asked, I haven’t demanded, I haven’t said nothing in that right, because I feel like my path will be made once I go out there and do what I’m supposed to do. It’s going to be inevitable.”
Coaches advised against this fight on short notice
Brandon was in camp preparing for a different opponent when the opportunity arose for the fight against Chandler. His coaches were initially against taking this fight on short notice but Girtz managed to convince them to change their minds with his belief and conviction.
“Chandler, there’s not a lot of people at 155 that have a bigger name than Chandler, so I feel like this is the fight,” said Girtz. “I don’t feel like I’ve been overlooked, I feel like there’s been a couple of times where I was right there and I know I was right there, but some unfortunate events happened and I wasn’t able to capitalize at the time. I do believe right now is my time and I do believe how everything is working out with my team and everything that the opportunity came at a perfect time.”
It remains to be seen whether Brandon’s belief manages to take him to a victory and a possible championship shot after defeating the diffcult challenge that is Michael Chandler.
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