Mads Burnell was confident that Darko Banovic would be no match for him on the ground.
Burnell (14-3 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) made good on his promotional debut when he took out Banovic in the first round at Bellator 248, which took place at Accor Arena in Paris, France.
The former Cage Warriors featherweight champion, who holds eight submission wins to his name, was able to make quick work of Banovic as soon as the fight hit the mat. But, for the first time in his career, it was his ground and pound that got the job done.
“To be honest, when I go in there and fight, I don’t necessarily have a gameplan because I would say that I have a pretty big arsenal of what I could do,” Burnell told reporters. “I’m a good boxer, I’m good at jiu-jitsu, so I usually go in and see what the fight gives me and then I go from there. Actually, I wanted to box this guy, but then he shot on me, and I could feel just from that little exchange of grappling, OK, it’s gonna be a pretty quick night if I just take him down, and I did and it was quick.”
He continued, “During this pandemic, I turned my basement into a matted room. I’ve been working a lot of ground and pound with the guys back home, actually since March, so it’s good seeing the fruits of my labor working.”
Having finished four of his past five wins, Burnell knows that if he keeps performing this way, big things are on the horizon. With Bellator breaking ground in France, he hopes that an event will one day land in his home country of Denmark.
“One hundred percent, that would be a dream come true if Bellator came to Denmark so all my hometown guys could come too,” Burnell said. “We’re a clique full of broke guys, so if it’s Denmark, it’s way easier and cheaper for them to come. So yeah, that would be awesome if Bellator came to Denmark. But, as I said, one small step at a time. Eventually it’ll come.”
You can watch the full interview in the video above.