Mike Shipman isn’t spending too much time licking his wounds following his first loss under the Bellator banner.
Gearing up for his eagerly anticipated all-British Bellator London co-main event clash with fellow middleweight prospect and rival Fabian Edwards, Shipman feel as though a win will catapult him back into the title stakes following his stoppage defeat to Costello van Steenis.
“Coming off my first loss in six years, I couldn’t have asked for a better fight,” Shipman told MMA Fighting.
“It gives me an opportunity to get right back in the picture with a win over a guy that’s making a lot of racket. Personally, I’m not a fan of his. Being able to beat him up in front of my home crowd on national television, that should put me right back into the title race and that’s where I want to be.”
Shipman disagrees with those who claim that Fabian has less to gain from the co-main event due to the Londoner’s recent loss to van Steenis.
“Fabian hasn’t faced a wealth of legitimate opposition just yet, with me he has an opportunity to prove that he is what he says he is. For me, it allows me to put my foot back on that rung of the ladder that I’ve slipped off. If I win this one it makes the last one look like a blip and that can happen to anyone. I think we both have a lot to gain from it and we both have a lot to lose from it - it’s a very important fight for both of us.”
The London Shootfighters product hasn’t been impressed by Edwards’ performances and believes that factors outside of his ability have helped him garner more attention on his ascent.
“He keeps finding ways to win, but if you look at his last fights he’s taking on guys with very spotty records and he’s not dealing with them convincingly,” Shipman said. “He makes a lot of racket, he’s very hectic on social media, he’s got a famous brother - it creates a lot of hype around him. I’m looking to expose him and he’s trying to legitimize himself as a martial artist. If he gets past me he’ll do that, but I don’t see that happening.”
Without his famous fighting sibling, Leon Edwards, Shipman doubts Edwards would be getting such a promotional push from Bellator.
“100 percent, it makes him more marketable and it’s another angle for the story. I’m not begrudging it, but it’s not because of his skill set alone that he’s getting a push from Bellator. That’s business, that’s how it works and I don’t mind it, but he’s going to find himself exposed when he fights me on the 23rd.”