For Welsh lightweight contender [autotag]Mason Jones[/autotag], Cage Warriors 113 represents an opportunity to show the world a glimpse of his growing potential.
The 24-year-old out of Blaenavon, Wales is the latest talented prospect to come off the Welsh production line, and “The Dragon” plans on underscoring his growing reputation by capturing the vacant Cage Warriors lightweight title on Friday night.
Jones (8-0) was already booked to be on the card, but after his originally-scheduled opponent was forced off the card, Cage Warriors shuffled the deck and handed Jones a shot at championship gold against Northern Irish contender Joe McColgan (6-2-1). instead.
It was a title opportunity he said he knew would come sooner rather than later, and he said he’s ready to make the most of it now.
“I just can’t explain how excited I am for this,” Jones told MMA Junkie. “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.”
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Jones was originally booked in a three-round non-title fight, but the bump up to a five-round title bout holds no fears for him. Jones said his plan was to challenge for the title in the summer when Cage Warriors are scheduled to hold an event in the Welsh capital, Cardiff, on June 13, and he explained he had used his recent fight camp to start prepping for five-round fights moving forward.
“My conditioning’s the best it’s ever been,” he said. “I prepared for a five-round fight anyway, just so I knew what worked ahead of my next fight in Cardiff, so I’m ready. This is the best I’ve ever felt, and I can’t wait to go out there and put on a stellar performance in front of the biggest audience of my career so far.”
Jones’ rise through the lightweight ranks has seen him swiftly emerge as a serious threat for the 155-pound title. He revealed he was targeting a matchup with the newly-crowned champion, Jai Herbert, but when the Birmingham man was instantly snapped up by the UFC, Jones has adopted a championship mentality and focused his attention on winning the vacant title.
“I knew I would be fighting someone for the belt in June – that wasn’t in question,” he said. “Everyone knew that was my belt after Jai had gone. I would have loved to have fought Jai, but obviously he moved on. Joe knows he’s challenging for my belt. It isn’t his; he’s the underdog. This is mine. They’re all going to have to be on form to even come close to beating me, and I don’t see how it’s seriously possible that I’ll be losing on Saturday night.”
But the Cage Warriors belt isn’t the only title in Jones’ sights. Ultimately, he wants to prove his worth on the European stage before getting the chance to test his skills against the world’s best in the UFC, where he wants to become the first man from Wales to win a UFC title.
The rise of Welsh MMA has been one of the success stories of British MMA over the last few years, and Jones says he hopes he’ll soon join compatriots Jack Shore, Brett Johns, John Phillips and Jack Marshman in the UFC as part of a Welsh contingent.
“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.”