Interview: Mike Wilkinson Ahead of UFC on Fuel 10 fight with Rony Jason "I Will Fight Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime"

Kingdom MMA talk to Mike Wilkinson about his fight at UFC on Fuel TV 10

by Ben Heather @benheather

On Saturday night British fighter Mike Wilkinson (8-0 MMA 1-0 UFC) steps in to the lions den as he goes to fight the winner of TUF Brazil Rony Jason (12-3 MMA 2-0 UFC) at UFC on Fuel TV 10 in the Ginasio Paulo Sarasate arena in Fortaleza, Brazil. Mike who puts his unbeaten MMA record on line against Rony Jason, who has won his last 7 fights and it is the first fight on the main card. This fight should be a very exciting fight and both will be wanting to keep their streaks alive.

Last week Kingdom MMA caught up with Mike before he made the trip to Brazil.

Ben: Firstly Mike thanks for taking the time out of your schedule to speak with us. How did you find your experience in the TUF Smashes house?
Wilkinson: Obviously the TUF Smashes was a dream come true, from the point i found out i was actually getting in until the time i was actually in the house it was like a dream come true. When i was actually in there and saw Dana White i just thought i was in a dream but the overall experience was unbelievable from start to finish. Now i am just blessed to be involved with the UFC.

Ben: Do you still keep in contact with any of the guys on either team?
Wilkinson: Yeah on twitter mostly with a couple of the team UK guys. After the show we went on nights out and even me and Brendan became good friends. Then I got the email to say we was fighting each other so I rang him and he was like "ahh your full of shit, your full of shit" and I went "no honestly i just got the email now" so we said right lets put on a show and then we never spoke until after the fight.

Ben: Speaking of Brendan, How did you find it when you had to fight Brendan, your team UK team mate at the smashes finale? I know Freakshow struggled to cope mentally for his fight with Norman.
Wilkinson: I wasn't that bad because I knew that was my only shot and I knew that if i won i stayed in the UFC, if i lost i was gone.

Obviously I was friends with Brendan before but once you get in that cage you don't have any friends. Your fighting someone who is opposite you, you know they are coming to try and take your head off and your gonna try and take there head off as well so the friendship kind of goes out the window for those 15 minutes. Then afterwards we were back friends and back to normal it didn't make any difference. I don't think it effected Brendan either as we both knew what was on the line so we both gave it everything we had.

Ben: UFC on Fuel 10 will be your second fight in a row outside of the UK do you feel less pressure going into foreign territory as most of your friends and family aren't at the venue watching you?
Wilkinson: Well none of my family came to Australia and I think Australia is the furthest country you can go to fight, so Brazil being only a nine hour flight I'm quite chuffed to be honest compared to going to Australia twice last year. I am just chuffed to be fighting, Ive always said that I'm not bothered where i fight for the UFC as long as they get me a fight I'm happy. I will fight anyone, anywhere, anytime and I'm just blessed to be part of this show and obviously to be fighting on the main card is a dream come true.

I'm not going to let the UK down, I'm going to go in there and I'm going to give it everything I have got and I'm confident i can pull out the win

Ben: You fought in Australia last time against a Brit. This time you are going into the lions den in Brazil to face a hometown favourite. Are you prepared for the hostile atmosphere?
Wilkinson: Yeah, everyone has said that but at the end of the day I know for a fact that I'm not going to get cheered. I know everyone in that arena will be booing me, but I know that everyone in England is going to be cheering for me. That's all I am going to be thinking in my head, that everyone will be cheering for me back in England and at the end of the day there is only me and Rony in the cage all the fans wont be jumping in the cage, well hopefully they wont anyway so other than that i am not that bothered.

I got booed in Australia and obviously going up against the Australians on The Ultimate Fighter series more people favoured Brendan so I got booed then. I didn't really expect that but it didn't make a difference. At the end of the day we are the only two in the cage and one of us has to come out with the win and I am confident its going to be me.

Ben: There are a lot of rumours of a Manchester UFC event in October, have you heard anything about this event and if so would you like to fight on it in the UK again?
Wilkinson: Yeah I have heard rumours, I think they should put me on this one after fighting in Australia and Brazil what do you think? They should do and its in my back yard, that would be another dream come true and it would be a lot easier as well its only 20 minutes up the road so that would be a bonus. I'm going to win this fight i am 110% positive about that and then i will ask for a fight on the October card in Manchester if there is one.

Ben: When do you leave for Brazil, and how many guys from your team are making the trip?
Wilkinson: I'm flying out on the 2nd June early hours on the 2nd and its me, my head coach Daren Morris and my mate and good team mate Chris Hoban. That's enough, that's all i need. As long as I have got them two with me i am happy and we will go over to Brazil and do the business

Ben: Does fighting abroad make the weight cut more difficult, if so what will you do to make it easier?
Wilkinson: Obviously because I was in Australia and I was fighting at lightweight I was only a few kgs out but with dropping down to featherweight for this fight I have been strict dieting for a long time now.

As soon as I get off the plane I will get straight in the sauna and load on water plus I am going to water load while I am on the plane as well just to keep my body constantly flushing and I think i will be OK. Its part of the job making weight so i am going to make weight no matter what the circumstances are so I have got no problem with making weight abroad.

Ben: This fight sees you drop down to featherweight is that where we can expect you to stay now?
Wilkinson: I was a featherweight before I went on The Ultimate Fighter. Its just that the news came out about The Ultimate Fighter being at lightweight and I had previously fought at lightweight and was victorious so I thought I would jump up a weight just to try and get on the show. I wasn't going to let the opportunity pass and what i visioned happening has happened. I mean getting on The Ultimate Fighter, doing well which i have done and then dropping back to featherweight and its all happened.

Ben: There are a few UK guys making the trip over to Brazil - Vaughan Lee, and the honorary Brit for the night Karlos Vemola, do you plan to meet up with any of those guys upon arrival? 
Wilkinson: No, I know of them but I don't know them to speak to but obviously with us being the only UK guys I am sure we will get talking. If they want to meet up then that's sweet but we have got nothing planned.

Ben: As a young fighter from the UK, coming from a show that didn't really get much exposure in the US, were you surprised that your fight was selected main card? 
Wilkinson: Yeah I was, I was pretty surprised because like you said this Ultimate Fighter was done by another production company and it wasn't aired in America. We didn't have that much exposure but obviously Rony has got a big status in Brazil. They must have been impressed with my last performance and they have put us together to make a good fight to start the main card off. But I am happy and it couldn't get any better.

Ben: At UFC on fuel 10 you will be fighting Rony Jason who won the TUF Brazil crown. Do you feel that by getting such a big fight the UFC believe in your skills and it shows that you are respected as a Mixed martial artist?
Wilkinson: Yeah I think they do because at the end of the day when you are in the UFC there is no bums, there is no chumps.... everyone is in the UFC for a reason. You want to fight and your winning the fights then your doing something right so with the UFC putting me together with Rony yeah they got confidence in me and they must think i am doing well and I want to prove them right, I want to keep fighting, keep winning keep competing and show them that the UK can fight.

Ben: This is a big step up in competition what if anything have you done differently in this camp to prepare for this fight?
Wilkinson: I have not done anything different because I don't need to so anything different. The only thing I may have done is I have bought more stand up coaches in, done a lot more on my stand up but other than that not really. My coach is world class he has got me to where I am today I'm unbeaten and don't change it if its not broke. So yeah I have done everything the same and its going to stay the same throughout my career ASW till i die.

Ben: Both Jason and yourself enter the bout with over half your wins by submission. Do you think your ground skills will cancel each other out and the fight will stay standing?
Wilkinson: I don't mind where the fight goes, i am confident on the floor and I am confident stood up. You get a load of fights where the fighters say they are going to stay stood up but nine times out of ten the fight ends up on the deck so I am prepared in all areas of where the fight could go. All I know is the fight is going to be exciting.

Ben: How would you rate Jason's striking compared to yourself?
Wilkinson: He is game, he's game as fuck he will stand there and he will trade with me all day. I have watched some of his fights and I am game as well. I will get in with anybody all day so its matched to make a good fight and it looks likes its going to be fireworks. Its going to be good.

Ben: Would you like to thank anyone?
Wilkinson: I just want to thank Daren Morris, Chris Hoban, Rob Lloyd and all the lads down at ASW, Adam and Austin from Complemed for treating me well and sorting my body out each week, Paul Wood from Try Fitness and my mum and dad for all the support and thanks to all my mates.

We would all like to wish Mike a safe trip and good luck in his fight. His fight can be seen live at 1am Sunday morning on ESPN in the UK.