Eric Prindle Talks Bellator Season 5 Heavyweights, Cole Konrad and Cheesecake

In our little sport of mixed martial arts, there are fighters, and then there are warriors like Eric Prindle.

Only Tim Kennedy, Brian Stann and Chris Weidman would be able to convey the imagery that an Armed Forces member like Prindle has seen, but the discipline shown by the former Army TOW gunner and five-time All-Army champion has helped him become a name to watch in Bellator Fighting Championships, and that focus is what could potentially help Prindle in becoming the second Heavyweight Champion in Bellator.

After joining the Army at age 18 and winning multiple Army championships, Prindle posted a 2-0 pro record before spending four years away from the cage, a move that led him to a loss against one Jimmy Ambriz in his return to action, only to post a four-fight winning streak before Bellator Fighting Championships came along and offered him a spot in the Season Five Heavyweight tournament, provided he beat Josh Burns.

The performance was a tough one for numerous reasons, one of which was that he and Burns had been training partners for about a year before they fought each other.

"When you're train hard with guys like that every day, you get pretty close," Prindle said.

Burns was a tough opponent for his friend and fellow training partner at DeathClutch Gym, where former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar and Bellator Heavyweight Champion Cole Konrad train, but on the plus side, Burns' loss to his friend was avenged by an unlikely source.

"It's kind of funny, but...neither of us felt like drinking that night," Prindle said, "and he got hurt pretty badly too, so what we decided was that the winner bought cheesecake."

Nothing says "great fight" like a slice of cheesecake, and some time after that night with the cheesecake, it was announced that Prindle was going to be in the Season 5 Heavyweight tournament, with a date against fellow DeathClutch Gym teammate Cole Konrad hanging in the balance. However, Prindle is not worried too much about who else is in it or what strengths they may hold.

He just wants to go out there, do the best job that he can and have some fun doing what he loves while also trying to cement his case for a Bellator title shot.

"I haven't heard anybody, but I'm not going to worry about who I'm fighting so much," Prindle said. "What I'm going to do is come in the best possible shape I can, the best highly trained as I possibly can, and just go to work"

As for Cole Konrad, the man Prindle trains with and the man who holds the ultimate object of desire in the Bellator 265-lb. title?

That's a man Prindle knows all too well.

"You make one mistake and he's got you," Prindle said of Konrad.

More than just a wrestler with good enough top control, Konrad has shown the ability to finish on the ground, most recently in a bout against Neil "Goliath" Grove, in which the "Death Clutch"—the same arm triangle Lesnar used to defeat Shane Carwin at UFC 116—secured the Heavyweight crown for Konrad.

It will not be an easy task, but then again, Prindle has shown on more than one occasion the drive it takes to push forward and get the job done, regardless of whatever may serve as a hindrance along the way.

Prindle wants the title, and Konrad wants to keep it, but knowing Prindle and his good heart, he and Konrad may find a lighthearted way to celebrate the win, regardless of who should win if Prindle should win Bellator's Season Five Tournament at 265 pounds.

Perhaps the champion could buy the cheesecake, or maybe something else for his foe.

However, they will likely laugh about the result afterward regardless.