Kingdom MMA Exclusive Interview with Jack "Stone" Mason ahead of his CWFN8 Main Event against Collin Reuter
by Chris Houten @KingdomMMAChris
Kingdom MMA recently got the privilege of asking Jack "Stone" Mason some questions ahead of his main event fight this weekend at Cage Warriors Fight Night 8 which takes place in Al Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
Chris: When you heard David Bielkheden had to pull out of the fight at Fight Night 8 due to injury, how disappointed were you?
Mason: I was extremely disappointed that Bielkheden pulled out of the fight due to injury, as soon as I saw the missed call from matchmaker Ian Dean I thought “Oh no!”.
I’d put a lot of work into preparing for Bielkheden as he is a UFC veteran, a fantastic grappler and a fighter that I’ve always enjoyed watching and was very excited to be facing him. I was also very excited to be finally facing a fighter very similar in style to all the guys I train with at Tsunami Gym day in and day out. I was gutted when I got the news if I’m honest.
Chris: Your new opponent Collin Reuter provides a different challenge in terms of style, how have you adjusted you training camp to address his all action style?
Mason: It’s true Reuter is a very different opponent to Bielkheden who is a very strong wrestler and BJJ Blackbelt. I think Reuter is best described as a fighter with tremendous one punch knockout power so of course I’ve had to change my training camp somewhat to adjust to this change in opponent. Luckily I train with a lot of guys that have lots of power in their hands, I swear guys like Tim Stokes and Arnold Allen keep horse shoes in their sparring gloves!
Chris: What do you know about Reuter going into the fight, other than the big KO he scored over Fike, there doesn’t seem to be much footage out there?
Mason: There’s a reasonable amount of footage out there if you look hard enough and I can see that Collin looks to finish the fight everywhere whether it be on the ground or the feet. There is a reason the guy is 10-1 and not been finished so I respect his skills a lot and have been preparing very hard for him.
Chris: Am I right in saying Reuter has spent some time over at Team Alpha Male?
Mason: Well I can’t say for certain but I’ve read in a few places that he has spent some time there and he has tweeted about it a little bit but that doesn’t really bother me as I’ve got exceptional training partner’s myself and have been lucky enough to train with a lot of the best fighters in the world.
Chris: How do you see the fight on Saturday against Reuter playing out?
Mason: I’ve got the skills in every area to defeat Reuter and I plan on taking home my win any way possible.
Chris: I read online at Pro MMA Now Reuter says he “fully expect to dominate and finish Jack Mason”. As the most skilled, and most experienced fighter he has ever faced, how do you react to comments like these?
Mason: No fighter is ever going to go into a fight saying that he is going to lose, I’m sure Reuter is a confident man and fighter but he’s in for a rude awakening come 11th May.
Chris: You fight out of Tsunami Gym, does it give you extra confidence now that both John Maguire and Luke Barnatt both fight in the UFC and come from the gym?
Mason: I’ve always had confidence in my training and in my training partners and now that both John and Luke are fighting for the world’s elite promotion I guess it does help to validate that somewhat and I know I’m training with one of the best teams in the world at both Tsunami Gym and BKK Fighters.
Chris: What day are you travelling to the UAE ahead of your fight on Saturday?
Mason: We are travelling out to the UAE on Wednesday 8th May so we’ll have a couple of days to adjust to the climate and make weight before the fight. I literally cannot wait now!
Chris: Have you made any special plans in regards to cutting weight, with this being your first fight outside of the UK or Ireland?
Mason: Not really, I’ll already be quite a few days into the water loading phase of the cut when I arrive and by Thursday I’ll be cutting down on my water intake and getting into the salt baths to get the excess water off me.
I think with it being such a hot climate it can only make the weight cut even easier to be honest! I’ve just got to make sure I pack enough rehydration salts!
Chris: A win over Reuter will take your win streak to 4 with 3 coming under the cage warriors banner, surely this must set you firmly in the mix for a welterweight title shot?
Mason: Yeah I think that’s probably fair to say, I still think after Reuter I will need another good win before I can start shouting about a shot at the belt though!
Chris: Speaking of Welterweight title fights, there is a massive fight coming up next month in Pendred vs Mills, how do you see that one playing out?
Mason: I am a big fan of Che Mills but I honestly think Cathal will just use his constant pressure, takedowns and pushing Che up against the cage to get the decision win and retain his belt.
Chris: Are you feeling less pressure going in to this fight, with the fight being abroad and most of your friends and family won't be at the venue to watch you?
Mason: Not really, I’m pretty sure a lot of them will be watching on www.mmajunkie.com and I actually have a few people making the trip over and some friends in the UAE coming to watch so I need to put in a good performance for them still!
Chris: The mma scene over in Dubai seems to be really growing following the UFC holding an event there, and not only will Cage Warriors be there this weekend, Paul Daley is also fighting over there. How much to you know of the scene in UAE and what you expecting from the fans on Saturday?
Mason: I’ve been to Abu Dhabi before to watch my friend Alexander Gustaffson fight Phil Davis in the UFC out there and it was one of the best UFC events I’ve ever been too. The people in the UAE love combat sports and as I understand it one of the Sheiks went to University in New York and trained BJJ at Henzo Gracie’s academy, he fell in love with the sport and now that he is home and is in charge he has put BJJ on the curriculum for kids at school which sounds awesome! I’m expecting an amazing atmosphere with some incredibly knowledgeable fans and can’t wait to fight in the UAE!!!
Chris: Would you like to thank anyone ahead of your fight?
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. Without these people in my life I wouldn’t be able to achieve anything.
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 KingdomMMA 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
Thank you to Jack for giving up his time to answer the questions for MMA and even more so for such great answers to our questions. As Jack mentioned you can see the fight online from either the Cage Warriors or MMA Junkie websites.
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