Jack Mason speaks to Kingdom MMA after "the highlight of my MMA career so far"

Jack "Stone" Mason post fight interview after Cage Warriors Fight Night 8 win

by Ben Heather @benheather

Today Kingdom MMA had the opportunity to catch up with Jack Mason after he beat Collin Reuter at Cage Warriors Fight Night 8 in Al Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. This fight was the main event of the night and Jack Mason managed to pick up the unanimous decision win.

Ben: How does it feel standing here today having got the win on Saturday night in the main event of Cage Warriors Fight Night 8?
Mason: I feel extremely happy and privileged to have been given the opportunity by Cage Warriors to headline such a great international card. It was definitely one of the best experiences in my life so far and I would probably say it was the highlight of my MMA career so far!

To fight in front of the great fans in the UAE, to fight in front of the Sheikh of Al Fujairah and having the show streamed all round the world was a huge privilege and something I appreciate greatly.

Ben: You initially missed weight on Friday? Was this due to the travel or do you have an explanation for missing weight?
Mason: I missed weight initially because the scales I took with me to monitor my weight cut got so wet when I was getting in and out of a hot bath constantly that the reading they were giving started to become faulty. I tried using some old ones we found in the hotel but they were not calibrated to the official scales and although I thought I was on weight when I got to the official weigh in I was obviously over!

This is my fault entirely as I should have been more prepared or at least careful with my scales that I took with me. I weighed in for the official weight within the time limit allowed so I did make the official weight limit on my final attempt.

This was the least amount of weight I’ve ever had to cut to make Welterweight so I’m a little embarrassed it was even an issue!

Ben: Did the fight pan out the way you expected it to on Saturday?
Mason: If I’m honest it played out almost exactly as I had envisaged. It was a fight where I had a lot to lose against a very dangerous and short notice change of opponent so I had to ensure I stuck to my game plan to guarantee this victory. Trust me Reuter hits like a train so I really didn’t need to risk any extended exchanges on the feet with him.

Ben: Did Reuter fight as you had prepared for or did he do anything to surprise you?
Mason: He fought exactly as I had prepared for him, I maybe didn’t expect him to telegraph his overhands so much but that’s not something I am going to complain about! His submission defence was pretty good too, he ‘hand’ fought really well when I had control of his neck which stopped me from getting the chokes I was fishing for.

Ben: You mentioned after the fight that you were disappointed that you could not finish the fight, now a couple of days have passed are you still disappointed?
Mason: Yes I’m still a little disappointed that I didn’t get the finish as I feel like that maybe I haven’t done my job properly if I don’t. Reuter was a tough dude but I’m sure that I have the skills to finish anyone that I face so I’ll be looking for the finish more and more in future fights.

Ben: Have you had chance to watch the fight back, how do you rate your performance?
Mason: Yes I managed to catch the replay on www.cagewarriors.tv on Monday night and was pretty happy with how the fight went. Obviously I’m very critical of myself and can see lots of mistakes or opportunities that I didn’t take in the fight but all in all I’m happy with my performance.

I’ve still got plenty of tools that I haven’t used yet such as a straight right hand so I’ll be looking to show much more diversity in my strikes and attacks next time out. I’ve been getting plenty of ribbing from team mates about how I fought as they know I can do a lot better so that just keeps me motivated to keep improving.

Ben: Now you 7-1 from your last 8 fights where do you go from here?
Mason: Wow, 7-1? I didn’t really think of it like that! I’m just focusing on my next fight to be honest and I’m back training already. My goal is to earn a shot at the Cage Warriors belt by the end of this year so I just want to keep facing tough guys on Cage Warriors and keep beating them.

Cage Warriors FC has the best Welterweight division in the world outside the UFC so I’m just happy to be on their roster and taking on new challenges in every fight.

Ben: When would you like to fight again?
Mason: I’d really like to fight on the Cage Warriors 57 event 20th July 2013 in Liverpool at the Echo Arena. I love fighting for Cage Warriors and I’ve never fought at an arena show in my career yet so it would be a dream come true, plus Liverpool is a great night out!

Ben: If you could fight anybody next who would it be?
Mason: I’ll leave that one up to the main man Ian Dean. He’s the best matchmaker in the business. There are no easy fights on Cage Warriors so whoever I face it will be a tough fight for sure.

Ben: At some point do you want to get the chance to fight David Bielkheden your original opponent for the fight on Saturday night, before he was forced to pull out?
Mason: Yes, I’d love to fight Bielkheden in the future, I put a lot of work into preparing for him. Hopefully his injury heals up soon, he gets back fighting and then we can get matched up later this year.

Ben: I saw on twitter today that you are already back in training? Is that something that you always do or do you normally have a break after a fight?
Mason: Yes I’m back training already! I rarely take time off training after a fight, I may slow down the intensity somewhat but if I have no injuries after a fight then I really don’t see much point in taking time off. I love to train anyway so it’s never a chore and there is so much to learn in MMA there’s always something new to cover. I always think to myself that whenever I take time off training then that’s the time that my next opponent will be getting better than me, so I can’t let that happen!

Ben: A big topic lately seems to be the design of the gloves for MMA fights, do you have any issues with the gloves or do you think they could be improved in any way?
Mason: I’ve never had any issues with the gloves on Cage Warriors, the Rival gloves they use are the best on the market and I use them day in day out for training anyway. To be honest there are some bad gloves on the market but it’s rare for a professional show to be using poor quality gloves and I’ve never really experienced issues with any gloves I’ve used in a fight.

Ben: Would you like to say thanks to anyone?
Mason: I’d like to thank all my training partners and coaches at BKK Fighters, Tsunami Gym, Ministry of Martial Arts and Laurence Irving Strength & Conditioning for giving up their time to train with me and of course my girlfriend and family.

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.mmaxtreme.co.uk                         @MMAXTREMECOUK         www.qntuk.com                                    @QNTUK
www.funkygums.com                            @FUNKYGUMS
www.mmamindpower.com                    @MMAMINDPOWER
www.ignitept.co.uk                               @LI_Strength

Thanks very much to www.KingdomMMA.co.uk for the interview, it was a pleasure.

If you’d like to keep updated on my training and future fights then please check out my website www.jackstonemason.com and follow me on Twitter @JackStoneMason