Fabian Edwards will attempt to earn a rematch against Johnny Eblen when he faces Aaron Jeffery in a middleweight title eliminator at Bellator Belfast on Friday.
In the second round of the pair's Bellator middleweight world title fight in Dublin in September, Britain's Edwards sliced Eblen with an elbow, opening up a gruesome cut above the American's right eye.
"When I cut him, I'm looking at the cut and I'm thinking 'this fight's done' because it's such a big cut," Edwards tells BBC Sport. While Edwards recalls the defeat he laughs jovially, indicating he has dealt with the chastening experience well.where his confidence took a hit. "I feel like if I was to make the right decision in that third round, I felt like I would have got better and he would have got worse. I know I can beat that guy."
When the Professional Fighters League acquired Bellator in November, inheriting its roster, it left many of the fighters with a key decision regarding the direction of their careers - join the PFL's league-based competition, or continue under the more traditional MMA matchmaking format in Bellator."I just knew I wasn't going to leave without achieving what I needed to achieve, and I haven't achieved that yet," said Edwards.
In 31-year-old Jeffery, Edwards is facing a fighter who has won 14 of his 18 professional bouts, including four of his last five.
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