CHICAGO – When Adil Benjilany came to the United States to train in 2015, he was a bit of a fish out of water. It’s not much of a stretch to say that Iowa is a little bit different than Benjilany’s home country of Morocco. After he lost his pro debut to Damian Norris at a Hoosier Fight Club event in Indiana, Benjilany went to his opponent’s coaches, said he could hear them throughout the fight, and said he wanted to come train with them. So Benjilany moved from Iowa to the Chicago area and started putting in work at Midwest Training Center in Chicago’s northwest suburbs, a gym that has seen the likes of UFC standout Clay Guida come through it. The rest is history – with Benjilany on a five-fight winning streak. On Saturday, Benjilany (5-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) returns to work looking for his third Bellator win when he takes on Cris Lencioni (4-2 MMA, 1-2 BMMA) on the Bellator 221 prelims at Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Ill., near Chicago
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Bellator 221: Adil Benjilany misses Morocco, but family keeps him grounded in Chicago – MMA Junkie