Karl Moore believes everything has aligned perfectly as he looks to realise his dream and become the Bellator Light Heayvweight champion on Friday night against Corey Anderson at Bellator 302.
As part of the build up to the fight night, the promotion released a ‘Fight Camp Confidential’ with Moore, in which they sat down with the 32-year-old to discuss everything that has led to this fight.
Reflecting on his upbringing, Moore credited the fact that he had to be tough, as a young man growing up in Belfast, for the reason he finds himself in the position he does now. He said:
“Growing up in Belfast definitely prepared me to be a professional MMA fighter. I am not proud of getting into hundreds of fights as a kid but I mean, it definitely stood me in good stead for doing what I am doing now because guys start fighting and they have never been punched in the face, they have never had the feeling of fighting, where I have had that hundreds of times before I was a professional.
“Doing it professionally too, it is a safe environment. If you get hurt or badly dropped, the referee is going to stop it whereas out in the street you don’t have that luxury. I am not proud of getting into so many fights as a kid and as a young man but it has definitely led me down the path I am on now. I could have been doing worse things with it but this is probably the best thing that can come from my background, this is probably the best path I could have took.”
After his father started taking him to numerous martial arts classes at the age of 10 but it wasn't until he was 16 and found MMA that he felt he had found his calling.
"He took me to judo, he took me to boxing, he took me to kickboxing, he took me to all different types of martial arts but I never really enjoyed any of them because even at such a young age, I don’t want to sound cocky, but even as a kid I realised these were only one aspect of fighting. Boxing is a sport of punching, kickboxing is the sport of kicking with a wee bit of punching judo is one of clinch.
"But in a fight, all of that happens, you push, you pull, you grab, you roll about the ground and I was like ‘none of these martial arts are everything in one’ then I found MMA when I was 16, 17 and I was hooked from then, that was me. I realised as such a young age that, that is the purest form of combat."
Friday will mark Moore's biggest challenge of his date against UFC veteran and former Bellator title challenger Corey Anderson for the vacant Light Heavyweight championship. For Moore, he believes that now is his time to reap the fruits of his labour and claim the 205lbs belt.
"I am not superstitious, I am not religious, but I just feel like the stars have aligned right now, for me. This is for me and my family. Everything has just led to this moment, everything that has went on in the past, all of the sacrifices I’ve had, sleeping in the gym, injuries, being released, getting back, getting on the win streak, everything is just perfect. This is my time. Like I said, I am not religious or superstitious, but it just feels like this is meant to be. I am going to bring it home for me, and him, and everybody else."
Watch the full video below:
