After his April win over Pedro Carvalho, Jay Jay Wilson started to make a push.
Friday at Bellator 265, he’s be one step closer to what he was looking for. Wilson (8-0 MMA, 7-0 BMMA) takes on Adam Borics (17-1 MMA, 8-1 BMMA) in the featherweight co-main event at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.
“After my last fight, I either wanted a fight to get me to title contention or a title fight,” Wilson told MMA Junkie. “I was super excited to be able to fight Adam Borics this time. Adam Borics is on a win streak right now. His only loss was out of the (featherweight) grand prix, but since the grand prix he’s been dominating people in the cage. He’s a worthy opponent, and hopefully I can go out there and put on a good performance against him.”
Borics’ knock on Wilson this week is his contention he hasn’t fought a high level of competition. And while Carvalho might argue with that, it’s true that the Brazilian was Wilson’s most accomplished opponent yet.
Borics comes in on a three-fight winning streak over Mike Hammel, Erick Sanchez and Jeremy Kennedy on the heels of his 2020 tournament loss to Darrion Caldwell. His biggest wins are over Aaron Pico and former champion Pat Curran, but Wilson will be arguably his biggest name since Caldwell.
But Wilson said he sees weaknesses in Borics’ game that he plans to take advantage of.
“He has a few holes, and we’ve been working on it,” he said. “He’s a traditional striker with not so great grappling, so I’m going to go out there, put pressure on him and submit him.”
If that happens, Wilson could find himself very much in the running for that coveted title shot against new champion A.J. McKee, who is coming off a dominant finish of Patricio Freire less than three weeks ago.
After McKee atop Bellator’s official 145-pound rankings, there is Freire, Mads Burnell, Borics at No. 3, and Emmanuel Sanchez. Burnell catapulted with his win over Sanchez, and Wilson could make a big leap if he beats Borics.
If it’s enough to warrant a title shot, Wilson thinks he’s got what it takes to be a threat.
“A.J. McKee is a real unorthodox kind of guy with his striking and his grappling,” Wilson said. “I’m kind of the same way. … I’m unpredictable, as well, so I think we would stack up well and have a great fight.”
Check out Wilson’s full interview with MMA Junkie in the video above.