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Feeling Better Than Ever, Maiquel Falcao Looks for Another Quick Finish at Bellator 61




The majority of Maiquel Falcao's fights have been short-lived affairs.

In 33 professional appearances over nearly eight years, “Big Rig” has used a powerful striking attack to finish 26 of his 28 career victims, ending nearly all of those bouts inside of a single round.

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Before Falcao defeated Gerald Harris by unanimous decision at UFC 123 -- his lone outing with the promotion -- the Brazilian had gone 15 minutes in a fight just once, besting Josimar Lira Rodrigues in his third career fight in 2004.

The 31-year-old native of Curitiba, Brazil, hopes to continue that trend at Bellator 61, when he takes on Frenchman Norman Paraisy as part of the organization’s Season 6 middleweight tournament at The Riverdome at Horseshoe Casino and Hotel in Bossier City, La.

“I have a gift,” Falcao told Sherdog.com. “My gift is the ability to knock grown men unconscious. When I hit someone, they go down, and that’s it. It won’t be any different with Paraisy.”

Paraisy made a brief appearance on Season 11 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” falling to James Hammortree by technical knockout in a bout to get into the “TUF” house. Unbeaten in his last six fights, Paraisy last competed in July, scoring a third-round technical knockout of Jack Mason. The 25-year-old ABS Team representative fell to Dave Menne in his lone Bellator appearance in 2009.

Falcao is unimpressed by the resume of his opponent and says his experience facing larger foes will prove useful when he squares off with Paraisy on Friday night.

“I don’t think Norman will be able to bring anything that I haven’t seen before. Not a lot of people know this, but the majority of my fights took place in the heavyweight division,” he said. “I knocked much bigger men out, and I’ve been hit by much bigger opponents and kept fighting, so honestly I don’t think Norman will even be able to hurt me.”

Not long after his most recent victory over Douglas del Rio last October, Falcao survived a bit of a health scare. Hospitalized after what was initially thought to be a heart attack in November, the Brazilian later denied those reports on his Facebook page, saying that his health problems came as a result of “excessive training.”

It was another bump in the road for “Big Rig,” who was released from the UFC following his victory over Harris due to legal issues stemming from a 2002 incident in his native Brazil. Now, Falcao is looking to make an impact in his new home.

“I’m coming out in this fight to make a big statement. This is my first fight for Bellator, so I definitely want to look impressive,” he said. “I want the world to know that I’m back and I’m stronger and better than I’ve ever been. I’m here to be the best 185-pound fighter in the world.”

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