Mason ‘The Dragon’ Jones has a message for Cage Warriors fight promoters, saying: “Bring me the biggest, toughest monster you can find.”
Jones, from Blaenavon, is intent on joining the elite Ultimate Fighting Championship and extended his unbeaten record by beating Finnish opponent Aleksi Mäntykivi at CW108 at Viola Arena, Cardiff Bay.
Now he has two major Mixed Martial Arts targets – to win the Cage Warriors lightweight championship belt and make the move to UFC, joining fellow Welshmen Jack Shore, Brett Johns, Jack Marshman and John Phillips at the top level.
“I will show what a tyrant can do and take the belt,” says Jones. “Find me the biggest, toughest monster you can find, whoever they hide in the corners of Cage Warriors.
“Put them in front of me and I will smash through them. I will smash through whoever they put in front of me.”
Jones suffered cuts to his face during the win against Mäntykivi and said: “I was hoping to fight again in a couple of weeks, but clearly I’ll need to have a month off.”
He fights out of Celtic Pride Martial Arts in Abertillery and has taken his record to a perfect eight wins, five of which came by way of stoppage.
The 24-year-old outclassed Mäntykivi with a dominant, three-round decision and his arm was raised by referee Marc Goddard to show he had won.
It was far from the stoppage victory Jones predicted, but it looks certain he will be given a shot at the Cage Warriors lightweight title early in 2020.
Jones was delighted to win, but far from happy that he failed finish it earlier and relied on a referee’s verdict.
“I’m a finisher who looks to dismantle opponents,” he said. “I didn’t finish it and that’s not good enough for Cage Warriors. I will come back and smash through people.
“I am the most dangerous fighter in this division and have to prove it.
“I clipped Mäntykivi with shots and should have finished it first round. Generally, he was on the back foot, but I was a bit open on my striking and ended up with two lovely cuts because of that.
“There were bad things I did and good things I did. I made mistakes, but I beat him and dominated one of the best in this division.
“Give me the biggest, toughest opponent possible and I will tear through them. Put them in front of me and I will smash them up.
“There is a lot to improve on and will work hard to do that. I know I can do better.”
Jones trained fiercely in Sacramento, California in the build-up to his latest victory and loved fighting in Cardiff, saying: “This city is the perfect place to fight. The home crowd are insane and the noise unbelievable.”
He is keen to win the Cage Warriors lightweight title early in the new year, move to UFC within 12 months and show he is number one in the division.
Mixed Martial Arts is growing in popularity ands Jones said it is likely to become ‘one of the biggest sports in the world’.
He talked about his nickname – ‘The Dragon’ – and said: “I love the image of the dragon and the mindset of it. Fire on the inside and cold in performance.
“Out of all the flags if you had to pick one, the majority of people would pick the one with the big red dragon.”
Jones is certain to watch with interest when Birmingham Jai Herbert, the reigning Cage Warriors lightweight champion, defends his belt against Cain Carizosa at the Resorts World Arena in the English Midlands on Saturday, October 26.
Herbert boasts a 9/1 record and trains under the guidance of ex-Cage Warriors welterweight and now UFC star Tom Breese.
Welsh prospect Oban Elliott defeated James Lilley on a first round submission (rear-naked choke).
The pro-prelims included a devastating knockout win for Welshman Ben Ellis, who improves to 2-0 in the featherweight division after a similarly perfect eight-fight unbeaten run as an amateur.
It was one of Cage Warriors most exciting Welsh cards with all but two of the 19 bouts ending within the distance.
Up next, #CW109!
We're bringing Birmingham some insane matchups on Oct 26th…
👑 Jai Herbert vs @CainCarrizosa
@DeanTrueman vs @Morgan_Chapa @BrianBoulandMMA vs Chris MiahAnd more. pic.twitter.com/hfahfbsc3r
— Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) October 14, 2019
Full CW108 results at the Viola Arena, Cardiff Bay:
Main Card
Mason Jones defeated Aleksi Mäntykivi via unanimous decision
Oban Elliott defeated James Lilley via Submission (rear-naked choke) – R1
Shaun Luther defeated Martin McDonough by KO (Punches) – R1
Josh Reed defeated Ivan Zidar via Submission (Bulldog Choke) – R2
Chris Sterling defeated Dan Kneil via Submission – R1
Pro Prelims
George Giannakidis defeated Jordan Peake via Submission (armbar) – R1
Rory Evans defeated Brad Evans via Submission (rear-naked choke) – R1
Ben Ellis defeated Rafail Skouras via KO (punches) – R1
CWA Wales Amateur Card
CW Academy Wales Welterweight title
Josh Hudson defeated Daniel Morris via TKO (punches) – R2
CW Academy Wales Light Heavyweight title
Shane Price defeated Tom Jones via Submission (rear-naked choke) – R1
Mitchell Goode defeated Rikki Wyatt via Submission (rear-naked choke) – R2
Alex Gill defeated Kacper Zdunczyk via TKO (punches from rear mount) – R1
Danny Dixon defeated Tom Carnell via TKO (punches) – R1
Johnny Bryant defeated Callum Hanman (England) via unanimous decision
Rhys Hughes defeated Will Bladen (Wales) via Submission (rear-naked choke) – R1
Jack Bryant (England) defeated Cai Evans (Wales) via Submission (rear-naked choke) – R3
Zach Holman (England) defeated Grant Ogbourne via submission (rear-naked choke) – R2
Jordan Taylor defeated Jack Allen-Smith via submission (armbar) – R1
Levi Batchelor defeated Charlie Huckson (England) via submission (D’Arce choke) – R1