Mick Stanton (right) throws a punch | Dolly Clew/Cage Warriors
The Liverpudlian faces former champion, James Webb, in Manchester this Saturday night and intends to prove he is next in line for an opportunity at the title.
In an MMA career of ups and downs, Mick Stanton believes now is the perfect time to make a run at the big time.
Stanton (6-3) began his journey in combat during childhood, where he became a national schoolboy champion in boxing and competed at the highest level for England. The likes of Amir Khan and James DeGale were part of that same squad so he’s been used to competing against the best from a young age. Stanton turned professional in boxing at the age of 19 but ultimately, it didn’t work out due to struggles with selling tickets and other aspects in the business. After having three bouts, he called it a day before a friend of his, who was competing in MMA, asked Stanton to help with some pad-work. While helping his friend out, Stanton thought he’d try some of the MMA classes and that’s how his transition into the sport began.
In 2014, Stanton won his amateur debut by second round armbar but that would be the only experience of winning he would have for a while. ‘The Huyton Hammer’ then went on to lose five consecutive, amateur bouts and got finished in four of them. At that point, many others would decide that perhaps MMA wasn’t for them and they’d move on to try out something else. Not Stanton.
“I didn’t have the easiest amateur career to be honest,” discussed Stanton. “One of my biggest downfalls was fighting the best straight away. In my third fight, I competed against Jai Herbert, who was the number one welterweight in the country, and I did quite well against him. I had a terrible weight cut, so that drained the life out of me and unfortunately, he stopped me in the third round after I won the first two convincingly. The fight after that, I went back up to middleweight and fought a Norwegian jiu-jitsu black belt, which was only going to go one way after I’d been in the sport for only six months. I carried on fighting top lads until it all clicked for me and I started finding a rhythm in my training before winning my final two amateur bouts. I’m here for the long haul and never once considered quitting because I love the sport.”
The Liverpudlian went 3-2 to begin his professional MMA career where he competed for both BAMMA and Cage Warriors. In his sixth fight, he was presented with a golden opportunity when then middleweight champion, Lee Chadwick, missed weight by a considerable amount and had to forfeit his belt. Cage Warriors still wanted a contest for the title on that card though, so asked Stanton if he would step up and face European veteran, Jonas Billstein, on one day’s notice. Stanton got submitted in the first round but that loss made him realise changes were needed in order for him to progress in the division.
After that title fight, Stanton moved gyms to ASW where he still trains under the watchful eye of head coach, Daren Morris. He believes that his wrestling and ground game have come on ‘leaps and bounds’ since he first began working there and he has benefitted from drilling with high-level teammates, who help improve each other’s skills. In his personal life, there have also been changes where Stanton has become a more dedicated individual and he has surrounded himself with positive, professional people. He’s even got his own fight team now called Urban Kingz and they are about to open a new facility where he plays a key role as a full time coach.
Since Stanton’s change in training environment, he has won three fights straight which culminated with an impressive second round, submission victory over Michael Younis back in October. During the fight, Stanton used his wrestling to take Younis down on a couple of occasions and utilised some tidy sweeps when he found himself on the bottom to regain control. The win was all the more impressive due to the fact he hurt his knee right at the start of the second round. Luckily for Stanton, the injury wasn’t long-lasting and he was able to rely on his ground skills to deliver the win.
“In my last bout, I used sweeps well to put myself back into dominating positions,” explained Stanton. “That shows how my game is really rounding out and is testament to all of the hard work I have put in with my jiu-jitsu over the years. Fortunately, even though I blew my knee out, it didn’t lead to anything serious. There was a slight issue with my meniscus but I’ve had lots of rehab since then which has sorted the problem.”
On Saturday night, Stanton faces former Cage Warriors middleweight champion, James Webb, in an important main card clash with title implications. Webb (6-2-1) defeated Thomas Robertson last year to claim the vacant belt and followed that victory up by fighting to a controversial draw against Nathias Frederick at the Night of Champions show. In the rematch between the pair, Frederick rode out Webb’s pressure during the first three rounds to stop the Team KF fighter on the feet in the fourth frame, thus taking the belt. Webb has finished 5 of his 6 professional wins by submission and is returning to the cage very quickly after losing his crown to place himself in line for another shot at the title.
“James Webb is a very good opponent who I’m really looking forward to testing myself against,” stated Stanton. “I’m aiming to show everyone just how good I am. In terms of any predictions, I’m just aiming for the win. I’ll stay in the moment and if the finish comes, I’ll be very pleased.”
Although he hasn’t been told directly by Cage Warriors, Stanton believes that a victory in Manchester on Saturday will put him next in line for a shot at the belt because there is simply no one else left. The European promotion have brought in Andreas Michailidis from Greece to challenge Nathias Frederick for the title in April which Stanton admits upset him a little. He thought that after three wins last year, he had done enough to fight for the strap but he’s now prepared to take out James Webb first so that can no longer be questioned. The 33-year-old speaks highly of current champion Frederick (8-2-1) and is keen to face him in order to push his own fighting career to the highest level possible.
“Nathias is a very good champion and a tough competitor,” claimed Stanton. “In fact, I’ve done a lot of training with him in the past. His game plan was spot on for the rematch against Webb which shows he has a good team behind him too. I wish him all the best in his next defense and will wait to see if we meet one day.”
If Stanton does indeed pick up the victory this weekend, there is a decent possibility that day could arrive before the year is out.
The Cage Warriors 112 main card will be streamed live on UFC Fight Pass at 9pm GMT on Saturday night. Fans in the US can watch from 4pmET/3pmCT.