Bellator veteran Chidi Njokuani plans ‘to make a run in the UFC’ with a win on Contender Series

Chidi Njokuani knows he has all the skills to hang in the UFC and all that is left to prove it.

Njokuani signed to Bellator in 2015 and went 5-3 and has notable wins over Melvin Guillard and Ricky Rainey. His losses, meanwhile, were to the best of the best in Andrey Koreshkov, John Salter, and Rafael Carvalho. The 32-year-old also beat Max Griffin on the regional scene in 2015 and now he will get a shot to enter the UFC.

Njokuani is set to fight Mario Sousa on Week 2 of the Contender Series on September 7. For Njokuani, he says he doesn’t care he has to fight on DWCS despite the experience. For him, all he plans to do is to make a run in the UFC.

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“Man, I’m down to fight anyone, anywhere,” Njokuani said on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. “Whether it’s the Contender Series or not, I’ll take any route I can to get to the UFC… I was happy in Bellator, there weren’t any issues, I wasn’t wishing to go to the UFC. Things change and times are different now. Now, my plan is to make a run in the UFC.”

Not only has Njokuani has fought the who’s who of the Bellator middleweight division but he has also headlined shows. He headlined three times in Bellator and he knows that experience will pay dividends on the Contender Series.

“The experience will play a big part in this,” Njokuani explained. “I’ve headlined the big shows before so I’m familiar with the territory. It’s good for me.”

Entering the scrap on September 7, Chidi Njokuani admits he doesn’t know much of his opponent, Mario Sousa. He says he did watch his Contender Series fight last year and knows this will be a fun fight for the fans.

Yet, for Njokuani, he’s confident he will get his hand raised but won’t force anything. He knows if you finish a fight you are more likely to get a contract, but Njkouani believes his skills will be enough to impress the UFC brass.

“I don’t know much about him, he’s a striker I believe. I just know it’s going to be a good fight. I’m looking forward to it… I don’t really have pressure on me to get the finish,” Njokuani explained. “I’m just planning to have a good fight and I’ll impress Dana and the UFC whether or not I get the finish.”

If Njokuani does get his hand raised and get a UFC contract, he says it would be surreal.

“It would be dope, it would be dope. My brother started in the UFC so it would be dope to follow in his footsteps and bring the last name a little further. It would be cool,” Njokuani concluded.

Do you think Chidi Njokuani will beat Mario Sousa on the Contender Series?