Jack Marshman talks to Kingdom MMA ahead of Cage Warriors 72
by Ben Heather @benheather |
| Copyright: Dolly Clew | Cage Warriors |
On Saturday night Jack Marshman will return to fight on home soil as he squares off against Che Mills in Newport, Wales on the stacked Cage Warriors 72 event. While a lot of the talk before the event may be about the two world title fights which take will be taking place the Mills vs Marshman fight also will have a serious impact on the future of the middleweight division. Before his fight we caught up with Jack Marshman to talk about that fight.
Heather: First of all thank you very much for your time ahead of the fight, how has the camp gone for this fight?
Marshman: Yeah its gone brilliant, probably the best I've had and I know everyone says that but I genuinely believe that I have progressed a lot since my last fight and so I am really happy with my camp.
I am not sure if you was aware but before your last fight against Bola, Che Mills sent out a tweet saying he wanted to fight the winner of that fight. Then after the fight you asked for this fight too. Did you know that he was asking for this fight and is that made you ask for it also?
Marshman: Yeah one of the guys in my gym had told me that he had done it but he did it in a respectful way so all I was doing was saying that I was willing to take that fight again in a respectful way. We both knew the fight was gonna be there as we are both in the same weight class and so if he wanted the winner I was more than happy to give it to him.
When Cage Warriors offered the fight to you, was it an easy decision to sign?
Marshman: To be honest, it all goes through my coach. He deals with all of that for me and then it comes back to me for my ok, but to be honest, I accept any fight they offer me anyway so its another good fight for me.
What makes this fight more attractive for you, was it that Mills has a name from his stint in the UFC or have you identified an area of weakness which you think you will be able to exploit?
Marshman: No, not really. He is a couple of places above me on the rankings and with a win over Che it would get me closer to a title shot, if not a title shot. That's the way I always look at things, I just want to progress and fight the best guys and not the guys behind me.
You mentioned a title shot, have you heard anything official as to whether this fight is a number one contender fight? As I believe that the winner of this fight should be next in line.
Marshman: Ive not really heard anything but when Cage Warriors did the press release they said that this fight definitely has implications on the title race, so I am guessing, just like a lot of people on the UK MMA scene that it will either be me or Che next in line. The winner of this fight will be on a nice two fight winning streak against two top opponents so it will be all good.
In the past you have headlined shows in big arenas around the country against some of the top fighters in UK MMA such as Tom Watson, but would you say that this fight at this stage of your career is the biggest fight of your career?
Marshman: I think that if you are a serious fighter your next fight should always be your biggest fight. I don't want to take a step back, I want to take a step forward so every fight I have. Every fight will always be my biggest fight of my career. You mentioned that I have a lot of experience and have fought in some of the biggest arenas in the UK and headlined shows but none of that matters at all. I'm taking this fight like its my first fight ever and I'm taking it like its the most serious fight I've ever had and that's how I take every fight if I am honest.
Going back to that Tom Watson fight, is that a fight that you can go back to to learn from going in to this fight based on Mills and Watson having similar styles. Can you take anything away from that fight?
Marshman: Yeah I suppose I can, obviously he basically beat me with the low kick. He kept throwing that low kick and basically nullified my boxing from doing that and I think Che will have the same game plan but I have now had 10 fights since I fought Watson and no other person has been able to do to me what Tom did that night. I took what I could away from that fight and I know why I lost that fight and its because I didst check one kick and I've learnt from that and I've gone on to do well in my last couple through knowing that.
You mentioned that you are well known for being a boxer, where as Che Mills has a more Muay Thai/ Kickboxer style. What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of both styles as far as MMA is concerned?
Marshman: Obviously with the boxing everyone is just going to try and take out the lead leg and as a Muay Thai fighter that's what he is going to attempt to do. But, the difference being for this fight is I box completely different to the amateur style I had when I fought Tom Watson. Ive now been working with Gavin Rees a world champion professional boxer for a long time now and I box completely different. I move around the cage very well and I should avoid a lot of low kicks by the way I move now. Plus Ive been working on my Muay Thai myself so I am not only avoiding kicks but am throwing them back as well.
You mentioned Gavin Rees, a former WBA lightweight world champion. How important has he been for this camp going in against a good striker in Mills?
Marshman: Massive, my last couple of fights I have worked with him bits and bobs and done little bits when we had the time but for this fight I've worked with him a lot more. He only got married last Saturday but on Monday he was back in the gym putting me through my paces. Like I said earlier, this is part of the reason why its been the best training camp I have had because I feel like I am learning and have changed completely. You will see a completely different fighter to when I fought Bola a couple of months back because I have been working with such high level guys like Gav.
Both yourself and Che have had rough patches in your career but you're both now back in the win column. How difficult was it for you mentally when you've lost a couple of fights in a row?
Marshman: I think and I say this in a totally non disrespectful way, Che may suffer from that type of thing but I take every loss on the chin. I can't go back and change anything so I am gutted for about 10 minutes then I go back to my gym on Monday morning and get back to it, that's just the type of person I am. Ive been in this for too many years to cry about something bad happening I just think I get my mind on to the next one. Its like now, with a win in Newport I will have won 4 of my last 5 and I've got a good streak [going]. I don't think my mental preparation will ever change.
You lost your first fight since signing for Cage Warriors very quickly but then bounced back to finish Bola in the first round. Did you feel any pressure going in to that fight to get a win for the new promotion?
Marshman: No, like I said that's one of the strongest aspects of my game. Mentally If things aren't going my way I just ride through it and carry on. Obviously I respect that I lost and I know what mistakes I made and I got knocked out quite badly in Jordan but I came back and got straight to it and got back to the gym. That's just how I am, I am always just straight back to the gym. I didn't feel any pressure going in to that Bola fight, it was just another fight like any other fight I go into.
How does it feel to be back in Wales fighting for Cage Warriors?
Marshman: To be honest with you most of my pro career I have been outside of Wales, Ive only had a handful of fights in Wales. However, the arena we are fighting in I have fought in before during my amateur career and my first couple of pro fights so I am really up for it. I know Che's a good fighter and I am a good fighter and I love being in tough gritty fights and that's what I have to look forward to again.
How do you see yourself winning this fight?
Marshman: Me with my hands raised that's the only way, by any means possible.
Fighting in Newport, on home soil, can we expect a big following with you to try and gain an advantage?
Marshman: Yeah there's a few, there's definitely a few. As well as me selling tickets we have 4 other guys from my gym fighting on the same card so basically I think my whole home town will be there. Its brilliant, its back like it was in the old days when I used to fight as an amateur. Its really enjoyable. To put a card with two world titles fights on in Wales is really good, its great for Welsh MMA it shows that they are dedicated to the fans.
We spoke before about the world title, what did you think to Jack Hermansson's fight last month?
Marshman: Yeah it went the way I expected it, [it] was a really impressive finish to get the leverage he got from that position and to stop him from there was good. But the fight went exactly how I expected Hermansson got him down and his ground game wasn't up to scratch to deal with Hermansson in that position.
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