Video: Cage Warriors 57's Jack Mason plans path between banking meetings

It’s not the first time Cage Warriors’ Jack Mason has gone on a win streak, and so the recent success he’s found in the welterweight division isn’t cause to start making big proclamations about his future. 

“I’m not looking past this fight,” Mason told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “I’m getting the job done, because if I don’t, nothing else is going to happen. So I’ve got to get it done, and then I’ll look to the future. 

“Of course, I really want to challenge for the Cage Warriors title, and some day, I want to get to the UFC.”

But that’s the goal of pretty much everyone in Cage Warriors, if you ask them. The promotion increasingly is taking the role of a springboard to the Las Vegas-based fight organization, as the signing of featherweight champ Conor McGregor attests. A four-fight win streak such as the one Mason currently owns is just the kind of leverage needed to get into the octagon. But he’s not exactly leaning on it, nor is he trying to get into the UFC purely out of need. 

If he’s like others with his investment banking job, Mason’s fight earnings are a mere compliment to his day job. It’s the honor of getting title opportunities and fighting in the UFC keeps him striving to be better.

That’s why Mason (24-11) is splitting focus a lot at work these days. He said a switch of opponents led him to a fight with Ali Arish (19-2) rather than jiu-jitsu black belt Bruno “B.C.” Carvalho at Cage Warriors 57, which takes place July 20 at Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. 

“I think about it every minute,” Mason said. “Even when I’m at work, I’m sitting at meetings going over in my head how I’m going to win the fight. I’m just working my game plan, and obviously, this is a last-minute change of opponent, as well. I’ve got a very different style of opponent, so I’ve definitely been thinking a lot about it.”

Cage Warriors 57's main card streams on MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) following prelims on Facebook.

Arish boasts a virtually equal ledger of submissions and stoppage victories, but he’s without question a less-decorated grappler than Carvalho, who’s ranked high on Europe’s welterweight lists. 

Mason, though, feels that he’s better equipped as a 170-pound fighter to deal with any challenge in his way. 

“I just lost a bit fat, really,” he said. “I was always a pretty small middleweight. Doing the right things to get down to the weight, I find it much easier. I haven’t lost any power; I’ve just seemed to gain some speed.”

Now, it’s just a matter of doing his job and putting the replacement away so he can convince his bosses to give him a bigger share of the limelight. 

“Cage Warriors is definitely one of the best shows outside the UFC, and the level of competition is extremely high, and to get a four-fight win streak is pretty hard to do,” Mason said. “Not many guys do it, and I’m one of them. It’s kind of a testament to the hard work I’ve done.  

“I’m kind of finding my feet at welterweight. I’m looking forward to the weekend. I’m very confident.”

For more on Cage Warriors 57, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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