To be at home or on the road?
For British fighter Tom Watson, the answer is easy—even if the road takes him 5,000 miles away and to another country.
The Bamma middleweight champion is currently in the United States at Jackson’s MMA in New Mexico preparing for the biggest test of his career. He will be defending his title against former Pride veteran Murilo “Ninja” Rua. The bout will headline the Bamma 6 show on Saturday, May 21.
“Right now, England is not at the standard it needs to be at for me to train with top guys every single day,” Watson said. “There are some good guys over here, but in America, I get everything I need.”
“I spend more time in America now then in UK. All my training is done in the US. I’ve been to Jackson’s MMA now for four years.”
With a 13-4 record that includes seven knockouts and two submissions, Watson would seem to be a prime candidate for the UFC as well. Among the 13 victims are former UFC fighters Matt Horwich and Tulio Palhares.
Watson, however, is very pleased to be plying his trade with the upstart British organization.
“I don’t see a reason to go to the UFC right now if I can have big fights in the UK and build myself up,” Watson said. “As it stands right now, Bamma is bringing me in big fights.”
Watson is always looking to fight top guys, and he has never backed off from an opponent. In fact, he defeated Palhares very early in his career.
“I fought a UFC veteran in my second fight,” Watson said. “I don’t want easy fights. I understand why people would go out there and pad their record, but that’s not me.”
His desire to fight the best is what led to the upcoming matchup with Rua. Rua comes into the bout having won four of his last five fights, and two of his opponents did not make it out of the first minute.
The matchup against Rua is the first of his contract.
“I’ve signed a three-fight deal with Bamma,” Watson said. “I’ll take those three fights and see where I go from there.”
Should Watson eventually decide that he wants to make the move to the UFC, he already has one major fan in the promotion – former WEC light heavyweight champion, Brian Stann.
“I train with him everyday,” Stann said about Watson. “He is one of the most underrated middleweight fighters in the world. The fact that he is not in the top 10 or at least honorable mention will change soon.”
The former U.S. Marine believes the important career decision is Watson’s choice.
“He’ll be in the UFC whenever he wants to be in the UFC,” Stann said. “As exciting as his fights always are, the UFC would love to have him.”
Should Watson be victorious in the fight, he has sights set on some big things in his career.
“My long-term goal is to become No. 1 in my weight in the sport,” Watson said. “It’s not to be the No. 1 in England. It’s not to be the No. 1 in the UK. I want to be the No. 1 in the world.”
In order for Watson to get to that point, he’ll have to continue to improve. Working out at Jackson’s MMA has proven to be a great springboard for his career. Watson is 9-1 in his last 10 fights.
By continuing to work out in New Mexico, Watson has learned that Jackson’s MMA is reluctant to allow one teammate to fight another, but Watson is not sure he believes in that theory.
“It’s not a team sport,” Watson said. “If I’ve got a fight I need to take to get where I want to be, then yes, sure, I would take it.”
As for the budding rivalry between current teammate Jon Jones and former teammate Rashad Evans, Watson believes the fight has to happen.
“Jones is a titleholder. When it comes to a fight like that, sometimes you have to put the team aside and put yourself first.”
Watson will definitely be putting himself first when he takes on Rua. He believes they will have a very exciting matchup.
“It’s going to be a great fight for the fans,” Watson said about his championship defense. “It’s going to be explosive. It’s going to be a war, but I’m going to be taking my belt home that night.”
Fortunately, US fans will get the opportunity to see how exciting Watson is. The card will be available live on iPPV at Bamma.tv. The fights can also be seen in the United Kingdom on Sky/HD 114, Virgin TV 135 and TalkTalk 22.
Gary Herman is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand from Tom Watson.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com