On September 12th at the Michigan Compuware Arena in Plymouth MI, Bellator 124 offers fans an action packed event where, including many other potentially exciting fights, the Light Heavyweight title will be defended by Emanuel Newton. The Light Heavyweight tournament final between Kelly Anundson and Liam McGreary will also be decided.
One of the combatants in the mix is Sabah “The Problem” Homasi. Homasi is a 25-year-old pro from Coconut Creek, Florida fighting out of American Top Team with a 7-4 record.
I sat down with Sabah to get his take on his next opponent, his training camp, and his predilection for finishing his fights.
Aaron Robbins: Hey Sabah, thanks for taking the time to talk with me today. I know you must be busy with the fight coming up so soon.
Sabah Homasi: “No problem Aaron.”
AR: Sabah would you mind giving us some background information on yourself for the fans that may not be familiar with you yet?
SH: “Ok, my hometown is East Brunswick, New Jersey. My parents moved to Florida when I was about 10 years old, and we moved again several years later. My parents moved us to Dearborn, Michigan because there is an abundant Arab population and they wanted me to be closer to my culture. This is where, of course, I was introduced to MMA. I had a substitute teacher one day in High School. The sub had the television playing, and I saw a commercial for a PPV event. I went to the event with a group of my friends and fell in love with the sport. I got into it immediately after that. I signed up with a gym, Cooper’s Gym near Detroit, and started training.”
AR: Nice! How many fights did you have with Cooper’s Gym?
SH: “I had four fights out of Cooper’s Gym. That was actually my entire amateur career, four fights.”
AR: Only four fights then you went pro? Sounds like a man with a plan. Sabah you now train at American Top Team out of Coconut Creek, Florida. Tell us how you found your way to that fantastic team.
SH: “My family had already moved back to Florida. I had been training out of Cooper’s for a year and a half, but I knew that if I was going to take my career to the next level I had to get to a top notch training camp. I knew that ATT was down there in Florida, and I knew that I had to make my move. I moved to Florida and started training with the best.”
AR: I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, ATT is a hard team to beat. Go ahead and give the fans an idea of what goes on down there in Coconut Creek.
SH: “I get the best training in the world at American Top Team. The coaches and training partners are all top quality guys. I get training from Ricardo Liborio and Conan Silveira, founders and head coaches down there. I mean there’s Mickey Rodriguez for boxing, Mike Brown for MMA training, and Brian Harris for Strength and conditioning. The list just goes on and on, we have the best trainers the sport has to offer. Another thing that sets us apart is that we are like family. Everybody encourages you to succeed; it’s all just positive vibes in the gym.”
AR: No doubt, you are surrounded by top level talent in Florida. Sabah who are your most influential training partners there at ATT?
SH: “Oh definitely Hector Lombard and Robbie Lawler. Hector took me under his wing right away when I got to ATT. He has pushed me and encouraged me to be a better fighter. He sort of molded me into the fighter that I am today. They say that iron sharpens iron and that’s how I feel about Robbie Lawler. I mean you can’t help but get better when you are training with Robbie.”
AR: It’s got to be an amazing feeling to be mixing it up with those guys. Sabah if you had to say what sets you apart as a fighter, what would it be?
SH: “Well I’m very well rounded, I train all aspects of the sport. Now days you can’t have any holes in your game or your opponent will capitalize on that. If I had to pick one quality that sets me apart though, I would say it’s that I’m naturally heavy handed. I just have to land one good shot to have my opponent in trouble. I also have a good instinct for when it’s time to go in for the kill. I see that my opponent is hurt and he’s ready to be put away. When I see that I make sure that I finish the job.”
AR: With the majority of your wins coming by TKO, I would have to agree with that assessment. So, you’re next fight is coming up here soon against Eric “The Monster” Moon. You were originally scheduled to fight Ben Lagman, but he was unable to fight. Give us your thoughts on your upcoming bout.
SH: “From what I know about Moon, he is an explosive wrestler. I saw a couple of his fights and he can throw some good punches, but I’m not really worried about him at all. I don’t really worry about any opponent. I mean, my opponent just got changed on me, but the way I train I can adapt to whoever they put in front of me. Moon is a solid wrestler, but I train with Nate Coy and Colby Covington who are both top level wrestlers so I’m not worried about that aspect of his game. I can tell you one thing; this fight is definitely not going to decision.”
AR: I can’t wait to see the fight. That wraps it up for me. Who would you like to thank before the fight?
SH: “I would like to thank Bigg Boy Auto Repair, American Ink Tattoos, Pacino’s The Remix, Bofshever Wellness Center, Perfecting Athletes, Garden Of Life, and of course all my coaches and teammates at American Top Team.”
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