Despite main-card slot, Bellator 73's Matt Van Buren still has chip on shoulder

For a guy who was lucky to land a last-minute slot on Friday's nationally televised Bellator 73 main card, Matt Van Buren still isn't satisfied.

"This fight with Mike Mucitelli is really important to me right now," he said. "But I have a big chip on my shoulder coming into this fight because I was supposed to be in the current Bellator light-heavyweight tournament before I got injured.

"I have a big chip on my shoulder right now because I feel like I should be fighting Travis Wiuff in the finals on Friday and winning the tournament."

Instead, Van Buren (5-0 MMA, 2-0 BFC) and Mucitelli (2-0 MMA, 0-0 BFC) kick off tonight's MTV2-televised main card at Harrah's Tunica Hotel and Casino in Mississippi. Wiuff, the veteran fighter who's racked up 68 career wins, meets fellow tournament finalist Attila Vegh in the night's main event.

Van Buren, who choked out Shawn Levesque back in November at Bellator 57, hoped the victory would get him in this summer's eight-man tournament. Instead, an injury derailed those plans.

Although Bellator's 205-pound division has been a bit of a letdown for the organization (no offense to reigning champion Christian M'Pumbu, who suffered a non-title loss to Wiuff in October), a recent influx of big-name talent has breathed new life into it. Van Buren knows that, and he hopes a victory over Mucitelli, a well-rounded New York-based fighter, will let him test his chops against those notables.

"I know 'King' Mo (Lawal) and 'Babalu' Sobral have all the hype around them coming into this next Bellator light-heavyweight tournament, but I'm looking to give fans someone else to talk about after this fight with Mike Mucitelli," he said. "I feel like 'Babalu' has had his time, but this is my time. I moved down to California to train with some of the best fighters in the world at Alliance (MMA) for one reason, and that's to become a world champion."

Alliance is home to plenty of other big names, including UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, light-heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson and Phil Davis, and big-show vets Brandon Vera, Joey Beltran, Mike Easton and Ross Pearson, among others.

With those training partners, Van Buren believes he's well prepared for his third consecutive stoppage win in the Bellator cage.

"I'm looking for a first round knockout in this fight with Mike Mucitelli," he said. "I have two stoppage wins with Bellator so far, and I definitely want to make it three heading into the next light-heavyweight tournament."

While it may be easy to overlook Mucitelli since his sights are on next year's tournament, Van Buren insists that's not the case. He may plan for the future, but he hasn't lost sight of how important his next performance is.

"I approach every fight like it's for the world title, and there's nothing different about this fight with Mike Mucitelli," he said. "I'm looking to put this guy away as quickly as possible. This is a must-win fight for me. I definitely don't see this fight going the distance. I really don't think this guy is going to make it past the first round."

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