"The Hardcore Kid" will look to defend his light heavyweight belt for the first time against Joey Beltran at Bellator 124 on Friday night at Compuware Arena in Plymouth, Michigan. The Bellator 205-pound champ spoke to MMAmania.com about how his life has changed since winning the title, how he respects Beltran as an opponent, how hardcore music has effected his life and how he would fight Quinton Jackson -- if he had to.
Emanuel Newton was a relative unknown and a heavy underdog against Muhammed Lawal back at Bellator 90 last February in the Season 8 tournament semifinals. The moment he stopped Lawal with a spinning back fist in the first round would forever change how the MMA world viewed "The Hardcore Kid."
Newton would take that momentum and win his next three fights, including a unanimous decision victory over Mikhail Zayatts in the Season 8 tournament final, a unanimous decision over Lawal in a rematch for the light heavyweight interim title, and a split decision win over Attila Vegh for the Bellator light heavyweight title in his last fight.
Winning his first title has drastically improved his life.
"Things have changed for the better with me being able to provide for my family and provide for other people around me," said Newton, who defends his crown against Joey Beltran at Bellator 124 on Friday (Sept. 12, 2014) at Compuware Arena in Plymouth, Michigan, on Spike TV. "Not just my family, but my close friends and my family. It's giving me a whole new outlook on life and how to portray things and how I want things to go and flow. So I have to keep winning. I have to get this finish on Friday and stay on top and continue to live the lifestyle I want to live for me, my friends, my family and whoever else is in my life."
Newton even admits some of his music choices have changed as well.
"I haven't been listening to too much hardcore lately," he confesses. "I think I've come into a calmer time in my life. I've been listening to a little more classic rock and I like vocal trance. I like the beautiful voices and the really nice beats. It's kind of funny I've really calmed myself down. But I will always be a hardcore kid and I will always go to hardcore shows."
While his music tastes have softened up a little bit, that won't be the case when he steps into the Bellator cage on Friday. Newton said he's been working on "a lot of new techniques" and "adding new weapons" to his arsenal.
The newest Bellator light heavyweight champion is anxious to defend his belt for the first time and "ready to go and ready to make heads roll" against Beltran, who always a tough competitor and never one to shy away from a firefight.
"He's a game opponent," Newton said. "He stepped up when nobody else wanted to, so hats off to him. He definitely pushes forward and definitely has no quit in him. That's why I have to have to put him out and make him quit because he's not going to quit."
"That's why I take nothing away from Joey. He's a tough fighter and he's a respectful man, too. I have nothing bad to say about him. I have all the respect for Joey, but a fight is a fight. When we step in that cage all respect is out the window and I'm ready to do everything and anything within the rules to take you out."
In other words, Newton is even more hungry to keep his belt than he was to win it.
"I'm not going to lose my belt. It could be Joey. It could be Rampage. It could be Tito. It could be Stephan Bonnar. It could be whoever they put in front of me. It doesn't matter. The belt is mine. It belongs around my waist. It belongs in my hands and I will not lose it. I refuse."
Rampage?
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson won the Season 10 tournament final by unanimous decision over Lawal at Belllator 120 back in May, but didn't want to fight Newton for the title due to the two having the same coach and the reality that it would most likely divide their gym, hence, the reason for the Beltran matchup.
Newton wouldn't rule it out and said he would fight Jackson if he had to "because that's what champions do."
"You just never know," Newton said. "You never know in this sport. Me and Rampage have respect for each other, but when it comes down to it, he is in my weight class. He is a part of Bellator. He is -- if anything -- the toughest challenge I would have when it comes down to fighting. You never know. We'll see what the future holds. If we fight than we fight. If we don't, then we don't. It's not something that I'm pushing for. If it has to happen then I'm open to it."
For the time being his focus is on Beltran and Bellator 124. Newton may be a champion now and his life may have changed for the better, but he isn't a guy who forgets his roots. He may not go to as many shows as he used to and at times he feels like "an old man" when he does go, because a lot of the old familiar faces he used to see aren't there and it's hard to keep up with all of the new bands, but to him "music is the most powerful thing on earth" and the scene he was a part of helped shape him into the man he is today.
"I will always be a hardcore kid because hardcore is still what got me to where I am today," Newton said. "A lot of decisions that I've made in my life are because of hardcore. I think it's a huge reason why I'm not in jail or in deeper water is because of the hardcore scene. My times at shows, my times with friends and that lifestyle has really helped me. I will always be a part of the hardcore scene and I will always be 'The Hardcore kid.'"
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