As far as the betting lines go, Pakistani fighter Furqan "The Lion" Cheema (1-0) is the underdog heading into his second professional MMA bout at Fightstar Championship 18 in London, United Kingdom. He will be fighting Jahreau "Nightmare" Shepherd (3-2) on July 6th.
This time, Cheema will be the away fighter, with the bout set to take place at Brentford Leisure Centre, in Shepherd’s hometown of London. Cheema is going into this one on paper as the underdog. But that does not bother him much.
"It’s doesn't phase me at all being an underdog. It’s exciting. I'll honor this challenge, that’s what will wake me up in the morning and keep me motivated. I thrive on being the underdog and will embrace it. I could have selected an easier option but I'm not about that. I want to test myself and be against all odds. I'll go in there with my skills and heart - it's a fight end of the day I'm preparing to beat him up and he is preparing to beat me up."
Cheema beat Dan Hunter in his first pro-MMA fight. His amateur record is 9-1.
“Jahreau has competed on the big stage on the likes of Bellator, BamMMA, and MTK so I have to be on my "A" game and that's what I'm focused on. I don't have a game plan as such. I like to go in there and go with the flow, see how the fight pans out, but I'll be definitely ready and preparing for all obstacles and I'm sure the best man will win,” Cheema said about his opponent.
“He also thanked his manager Muhammad Rizvan Ali, my coaches Jamie Paxman, Tanny Hussain, Jay Hanson and Abdul Rehman. Also, a huge thank you to my management MTK Global Management and sponsors Junoon Cafe, EFWU, Marbella Cartell Clothing, Natural Remedy, Zeb Driving School, Holmfirth Health Kitchen, and Go Tints.”
This time, Cheema will be the away fighter, with the bout set to take place at Brentford Leisure Centre, in Shepherd’s hometown of London. Cheema is going into this one on paper as the underdog. But that does not bother him much.
"It’s doesn't phase me at all being an underdog. It’s exciting. I'll honor this challenge, that’s what will wake me up in the morning and keep me motivated. I thrive on being the underdog and will embrace it. I could have selected an easier option but I'm not about that. I want to test myself and be against all odds. I'll go in there with my skills and heart - it's a fight end of the day I'm preparing to beat him up and he is preparing to beat me up."
Cheema beat Dan Hunter in his first pro-MMA fight. His amateur record is 9-1.
“Jahreau has competed on the big stage on the likes of Bellator, BamMMA, and MTK so I have to be on my "A" game and that's what I'm focused on. I don't have a game plan as such. I like to go in there and go with the flow, see how the fight pans out, but I'll be definitely ready and preparing for all obstacles and I'm sure the best man will win,” Cheema said about his opponent.
“He also thanked his manager Muhammad Rizvan Ali, my coaches Jamie Paxman, Tanny Hussain, Jay Hanson and Abdul Rehman. Also, a huge thank you to my management MTK Global Management and sponsors Junoon Cafe, EFWU, Marbella Cartell Clothing, Natural Remedy, Zeb Driving School, Holmfirth Health Kitchen, and Go Tints.”