Bobby Poulter (3-1) steps into the cage with Nelly Thompson (5-3) on BTC 16 this Saturday evening. The welterweight matchup takes place at Central Arena in Burlington, Ont.
The 25-year-old prospect hailing from Thunder Bay, Ont., hopes to improve his record to 4-1 as a pro, facing an adversary boasting double the professional experience.
Rising through the 170-pound division, Poulter trains alongside Aaron Jeffery and Scott Hudson at Aegis MMA and Niagara Top Team.
Following consecutive bouts along the West Coast, Poulter welcomes the opportunity to fight in his home province once more, something he hasn't done since March 2020.
"I'm excited, man. Honestly, like it's been a while since I got to compete at home, been a while since my friends and family have been able to actually all come out to support. Usually they just watch it on live stream, but now they get to see it in person," said Poulter in an interview with MMA Empire.
"It's the extra pressure that I love and I'm just honestly excited to be back at home and have that hometown advantage for once. Then to be able to actually show my skills directly in front of people, it's so different over a camera or a link. It's not quite the same vibe."
Poulter seeks a strong rebound after suffering his first professional defeat—a first-round rear-naked choke submission to Saeid Mirzaei at BFL 71.
With this matchup approaching, Poulter expressed confidence in his understanding of Thompson's game, noting his preparation reflects that awareness.
"I've watched his fights before we took the fight. I haven't seen any of his amateur stuff, but I know he has an extensive amateur career. As far as pro goes, he seems legit, man. He has got some good wins, has got some good fights. He's tough," said Poulter.
"I think that I had a lot of specific training with this fight, probably more than I ever had in the past just because I think he's got a style that you can train for a little bit more than some of the opponents that I have had in the past where I didn't know a lot about them. But for this fight, I did specific work for him, so I'm excited to see how that actually comes out in the fight."
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