Will Mason Jones walk out of Cage Warriors 113 as the new Lightweight Champion?
Going into his championship bout against Joe McColgan this Friday, the 24-year-old enters with some strong momentum as he’s currently in the midst of a eight-fight winning streak. Originally, the Wales native was set to take on a different opponent at the show; however, when his previously scheduled bout fell through then the opportunity to win the vacant lightweight title opened up for the undefeated fighter.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, Jones explains his feelings regarding his championship fight and whether he knew that he would be challenging for the belt sooner or later:
“I just can’t explain how excited I am for this,” Jones stated. “In June, I thought I’d get a title fight – one more fight against a high-level contender and it’d definitely be mine. But I’m more than ready for it.”
Jones isn’t only targeting the Cage Warriors Lightweight title as the 155-pound fighter has aspirations to join the UFC and become the first Wales native to win a title within the promotion:
“When Conor McGregor came through, he had to literally smash the door down for Irish MMA,” he explained. “He’d won two titles in Cage Warriors and people still didn’t really know who he was. There were people calling Dana White saying, ‘Have you seen this Conor kid?’ and he had no idea who he was. After that happened, they saw exactly how much potential there was for Irish fighters and, after Michael Bisping won the title, that opened the door even more for British fighters. It’s not just an Irish thing, it’s a British thing. They both opened the doors for us.
“Wales is just the next big thing. We’ve always been people who love to fight. Culturally and historically, we’re the toughest people on the planet. I just think we’re going to show that as we go from strength to strength. I’m just hoping to get my name up, and by the end of the year I’ll be in the UFC, and I’ll be in the running with Jack, Brett, Marshman and all the rest, to see who can be the first to get a UFC title. Obviously, the rest of the guys have got a bit of a head-start on me, but I think by the time I get in there and start knocking people out and submitting people, it won’t take me long to catch up.”
Check out the full interview where Jones explains his conditioning for the fight, the success stories of British MMA fighters, and so much more!