Bellator Mixed Martial Artist Charlie Leary, who trains at Team CrossFace Gym in Watford, has promised to give fans a night to remember when he meets Scotland’s Chris Bungard at Bellator London next month.

Bellator London: Mousasi vs. Lovato Jr, which is the third installment of the Bellator European Fight Series, takes place at the SSE Wembley Arena on Saturday, June 22, with a sellout crowd expected on the night.

The 36-year-old, who lives on Meridian Estate in Watford, fights in the Bellator lightweight division and comes into the fight off the back of a narrow decision defeat to Paul Redmond in his last outing.

But despite that loss, he is full of confidence as he looks to return to winning ways.

He said: “I take a lot of positives away from my last fight. Looking back, I can see where I went wrong and why I lost the fight. I didn’t take much damage. It was only a decision defeat. I was controlling the standup and he just had a bit more control over me on the ground and he had my back for a while. If I had got top position a minute earlier in the last round, then I think I would have won the fight.

“Paul (Redmond) is top fighter, he is a BJJ blackbelt and has fought for the biggest MMA promotions so yes it was defeat but it hasn’t knocked me back.

“I have been working a lot more in training on taking risks so rather than just controlling and being comfortable, I’ve been working on attacking from my back to get top position.

“My ground game is really underrated though but in my last fight I was looking too strike to much. My ground game is good enough to get top position or to sweep a submission rather than just wait for the standup.”

On the prospect of fighting in London again, Leary said: “I fought in London last year and the crowd were amazing. The reception I received was superb, out of this world. I couldn’t ask for anymore.

“I’m coming into the fight off the back of fighting an Irishman in Dublin, so I’m looking forward to having the home crowd behind me this time when I fight Chris, who is of course Scottish.”

On his opponent Leary said: “I know he brings a lot of fans and he is well liked so the place will be very noisy when we step inside the Bellator cage.

“Chris is very underrated, and I don’t think people give him enough credit and I think he showed how good he is in his last fight, winning so convincingly against Terry (Brazier).

“You can’t sleep on Bungard though. He throws up random submissions, he throws spinning back kicks, he throws strikes, but he also has that grinding mentality and I know he will try and make the fight ugly.

“I honestly believe though that he has never fought anyone like me. I will be in the fight for every second, for every round and he will have to have something special to put me away.

“I’m very rarely in a boring fight and I come to put on a show. I come to fight win lose or draw. I’m there to make sure everyone wants to come back and watch again. It’s going to be exciting.

“I’m concentrating on this fight and then we will see what happens. I want to be active though. I’ve got a few fights left on my current contract, so I’d love to fight again in September. If I could get two fights in before the end of the year, amazing.”

Bellator recently signed broadcast deals with Channel 5 and Sky Sports in the UK which will see live events broadcast to fans up and down the country and Leary believes it will make a huge difference to both himself and fans following the sport.

He said: “It makes a huge difference. People who haven’t been to watch me live before or fans that don’t know much about the sport have misconceptions about it being brutal. It really isn’t. Now it’s on mainstream tv people should stand up and take note and see how professional we are and see what it it’s all about. Its massive for everyone.

“The British MMA scene has never been better. Dan Hardy and Michael Bisping, two pioneers of the sport in the UK paved the way for the next generation but the talent pool now of British MMA athletes is really impressive. Its now getting to the point where we are full time athletes. This is our full-time job now. Hopefully we can continue to show people what we are all about and the high levels we compete at.

Tickets for Bellator London: Mousasi vs. Lovato Jr. are now on sale and can be purchased online from axs.com/uk and Bellator.com.