Jack “The Stone” Mason gets set to make his fourth appearance of the year at Cage Warriors 71 and will take on promotional newcomer Jonathan Westin (6-2 MMA) in Amman, Jordan. But for Mason, a UK veteran of forty one professional fights, his opponents record is the least of his concerns and if anything only gives him extra motivation to be the best version of himself he can possibly be come fight night. “I have watched a lot of tape on Westin and although his record is 6-2 he is very experience in combat sports. He has had a ton of Shoot Fighting Fights which has a very similar rule set to MMA, so I know it will be a tough fight. Westin is from the All-stars camp who have some amazing fighters so I expect Westin to be well versed everywhere and an extremely difficult opponent. I say this time and time again, every single fight on Cage Warriors is a 50/50 fight and this one is no exception.”
For Mason who made his debut back in 2005 being as prepared as he can be for a bout is just as important now was it was back in his early days. Spending time studying Westin shows that the veteran is not taking this fight lightly, but Mason definitely feels that he has the skills to take the victory. “Westin is very good on the feet and rangy with heavy hands. He has good wrestling, trips and throws and is a good grappler and has some nice ground and pound. To be honest he is well rounded and I don’t think I get an easy time in any area. Luckily for me I am well rounded too and I know I can take him wherever the fight goes.”
The fight was initially due to take place in Stockholm, Sweden but following the SMMAF’s refusal to sanction the majority of the card (including Mason’s fight) the card has been moved to Amman, Jordan. So what kind of impact has the move had on the fighters? Mason isn’t really worried either way about the change in location but hopes that the fallout doesn’t have a detrimental impact on the state of MMA in Sweden. “Other than having to take an extra day off work and a slightly longer flight the drill is exactly the same. I am really disappointed with the SMMAF in putting up these barriers which have stopped Cage Warriors from putting on a show in Sweden. I have done a lot of training at Gladius MMA in Gothenburg and I know how educated the fans are out there and how much the sport means to a lot of people. So I think it’s really hurtful to the sport of MMA in Sweden.”
In his last bout Mason scored a split decision win over Bruno Carvalho, a fight which Mason ranks up there with the best of his illustrious career so far. “It’s probably my biggest win to date. Bruno is an exceptional fighter and a cool guy. I have had respect for his skills for a long time.” The fight was very evenly contested which was replicated in the judges’ scorecards, with two judges scoring it 29-28 in favor of Mason and the other scoring it 29-28 for Carvalho. While as a spectator the fight was arguably hard to judge and determine a winner, for Mason he felt very confident that he had done enough throughout the 15 minutes to get the nod. “I thought I had done enough to be honest and I strangely enough even though it was close I was actually pretty confident that I’d got the win. It was definitely a tough fight and he did hurt me on some occasions so I was really happy that I dug deep and pushed on to get the win.”
Mason was due to fight Carvalho at Cage Warriors 57 but the bout was pulled following some visa issues which Bruno ran into. Following the cancellation of the fight there was a few words shared via social media but Mason, ever the professional was keen to clear the air and has squashed any rumors of there being any tension between the Welterweights. “We had a few words when he pulled out from fighting me previously which I had no problem with. I just found it strange that he said I was running from him. He was the one who pulled out. It’s all water under the bridge now.”
Whilst racking up the biggest win of his career should put him in good stead for a potential sniff at the top tier of the division Mason is more concerned with his own performance and making sure that he just keeps winning. “Getting a title shot is completely out of my hands. I have got to be close to a shot as it stands already so I am just going to keep beating these guys they put in front of me and give them no choice but to give me that shot!”
The logistics of the 170lb division rankings are ever changing given the talent pool available to the promotion. Cage Warriors have recently been announced that the title will be competed for in the headline bout at Cage Warriors 72 in Newport, with current champion Nicolas Dalby putting his belt on the line against Gael Grimaud. A fight which comes to no surprise to Mason. “It doesn’t really surprise me at all as this fight was supposed to happen originally for the vacant title but Grimaud got injured. Grimaud put on a really impressive show against Carvalho in his last outing and in my opinion I don’t think he really lost the belt the first time (it was really close). Grimaud is definitely one of the best guys in the WW division in Europe so I expect him to win this belt back in Wales.”
The competitive nature of the Cage Warriors bouts is not only a testament to the match making skills of Ian Dean but also proof that the Cage Warriors roster is ever evolving and attracting top European talent. So what other challenges on the current Cage Warriors Welterweight roster excite the veteran Mason who has fought a who’s who of UKMMA fighters?
“To be honest I have pretty much fought the majority of the roster already. I just want to fight anyone ranked above me in the rankings or the champion.”
Jack would like to thank “everyone for all the support for this fight and my career so far. I would like to thank all my coaches at BKK Fighters, Tsunami Gym, Tandy Boxing and of course all my team mates for their help. I’d also like to say a huge thank you to my sponsors, please check out their websites and follow them on Twitter:”
• www.britishfighter.co.uk @BritishF1ghter
• www.chelmsfordphysio.co.uk @ChelmsforPhysio
• www.blankmmauk.com @BlankMMAUK
• www.qntuk.com @QNTUK
• www.funkygums.com @FUNKYGUMS
• www.ignitept.co.uk @LI_Strength
• www.coconoil.co.uk @Coconoil