Keith Bell: The Ref Will Have to Save Parker Porter’s Life at CES 53

North Carolina heavyweight Keith “BadnewZ” Bell is building quite a reputation for himself in New England with the help of Rhode Island’s CES MMA. On Nov. 2, he looks for his third straight win against Connecticut’s Parker Porter (8-4) at CES 53 in Lincoln, R.I., on AXS TV Fights.

Before that, he caught up with FightBook MMA.

What keeps you coming back to New England?

Pat Sullivan (CES matchmaker) and my girlfriend. My girlfriend is from New Hampshire, so we’re up there, anyway. Any time there’s an opportunity to come up there, I’ll take it. I think CES is the marquee promotion on the East Coast. Any time Pat calls, I’ll answer. There’s no better opportunity to be on TV and show off what you’ve been working so hard at.

Do you know much about Parker Porter?

No. I do know that he’s fought a couple of UFC guys. He can hang his hat on that. He’s tough. A couple of guys from the Boston-area have told me he’s tough and a solid competitor.

Are you looking for easy or tough fights like Parker?

Nobody in their right mind that’s on a lower level is going to take a fight. That’s why I haven’t fought in a year. I had to go up to Super heavyweight last October just to find a fight with a different promotion. They didn’t take me winning as a guarantee of my coming back. “What? I have this belt in my living room. What do you mean, “there’s no guarantee?” I should tell you who I’m fighting next.”

Is there anything special about New England MMA fans?

Oh, they’re dedicated. That’s for sure. The fans are great. They really back their fighters. They’ll boo you at first, unless you’re fighting Tyler King. They’ll hate you in the beginning, but if you put on a good show, they’ll sure as hell show love and grab you a couple of beers. That’s from my last experience.

Would you be interested in fighting again someday down the road?

I’m not even going to say anything about the guy. I have no interest at all in fighting him again. He may want to fight me again if he remembers me.

Would you fight Greg Rebello again for the championship?

I don’t know, man. That’s my dude. We trained together before he fought Tyler King. I was up there for Christmas with family. I had to emulate Tyler’s style, which was do-nothing. When it came time to take a fight with Greg, “shit, they already saw me.” Whatever, I was just taking fights. It’d have to be the perfect situation. We’ve called each other over different fights. I called and talked to him the day of both of his fights on Dana White’s show and we’ve become good friends. It’d have to be an extremely good opportunity to consider something like that.

What’s the most likely outcome of your fight on November 2nd?

I’m doing everything in my power to be lethal. It’s no longer enough to just go out there and put a hurting on somebody. I’m not going out there to hurt anybody, I’m just trying to take away any chance of them having an advantage over me. It’s no disrespect to anybody, whether it’s Parker or anybody else. They just have to go in there knowing the referee is there to save a life. That’s all he’s there for. That’s what every heavyweight should be doing. If you’re saying anything less, then you’re lying. You’re a liar if you say you just want to put on a good show. You want to win and get paid and go to the afterparty. That’s all it is in this point in my career. I’m training my ass off, so believe it. If things go my way, that’s the way it was supposed to go because that’s what I train for.

Roberto Villa

Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.