Douglas Lima (left)

By Kelsey Mowatt

Douglas Lima has made it clear that he still wants to fight Paul Daley, but the Bellator welterweight champ maintains the man he’s set to battle this Friday, is in fact a tougher challenge.

Lima will fight former tourney winner Andrey Koreshkov this Friday at Bellator 140, after a scheduled fight with Daley fell through earlier this year. Lima was booked to battle the well traveled vet in February, but was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury.

Since Daley questioned whether Lima could have still fought him at Bellator 134, the champion was hoping to face the welterweight next. But, following Daley’s win over Andre Santos at the event, he opted against fighting for the title next, and Lima’s been booked to fight Koreshkov.

“I think he’s very good. I actually think that he’s a tougher fight than Daley,” Lima said about Koreshkov, while appearing on Full Contact Fighter Radio not long ago. “He came up pretty good and I love the match-up. I know a lot of fans wanted to see that fight since a long time ago.”

“I like him. I like his style. He’s a great striker,” added Lima. “He’s very explosive. Very quick. It’s going to be a great fight and I’m very excited to fight a guy like that. He’s got an awesome record. He’s only got one loss. I’m very confident that I’m going to go there and beat him, and no matter what he brings, I’m going to be ready, and I’m going to take that win for sure.”

It will be interesting to see what unfolds in the bout and how Lima approaches Koreshkov. As Lima noted, the “Spartan’s” striking abilities are well documented. Since the Russian fighter joined Bellator in 2012, Koreshkov has recorded 4 knockouts, and 1 TKO win in 10 bouts.

Of course, Lima is also a ferocious striker, as evidenced by his five fight winning streak where he has stopped all of his opponents. Only one of Lima’s 8 Bellator victories has come via the judge’s scorecards. But, Lima is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt, so could he look to take the fight down?

“At this point I’m just here for a win,” said Lima. “I’m very excited for this match-up of course, but, I’m definitely going to stand man. That’s where the fight’s starting and I’m going to strike a lot. If I see the opportunity to get him down I definitely will. You know what I mean? I’m not going to say that I’m not going to because I will. If I see the opportunity, but if not, and I don’t see the opportunity to go to the ground, it’s good standing, that’s where we’re going to stay. I’ll be ready for wherever the fight takes place.”

The July 17th, Bellator 140 card will go down at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.