Jake Butler Hopes Drop to Middleweight Helps Secure Long-Awaited Title Shot

Jake Butler has spent his entire professional career competing inside the ONE Championship cage. He’s had eight fights so far, winning seven of them, and is coming off back-to-back victories over high caliber opponents.

Butler began competing in the light heavyweight division, but has dropped down to middleweight and faces Marcin Prachnio on Saturday night (local time) in Jakarta. He hopes a win at ONE: Titles & Titans will be enough to secure an immediate title shot and already has one eye on reigning champion Vitaly Bigdash.

“There is only one potential match I am interested in. The guy who is hiding in Russia with the belt that he doesn’t deserve. He’s not the true champion at the 93-kilogram limit in ONE Championship, not until he fights me. I have been here since the beginning of ONE, and I have yet to be beaten at 93 kilograms.  He took that belt while I was preoccupied welcoming my first son to the world. It’s still my division.”

The new ONE Championship regulations have helped Butler make a home in the middleweight division. Previously, he was competing at 205 pounds without cutting any weight, so the American has been able to move down without making any sort of major adjustments.

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“If I am staying busy with training and eating healthy, 205 is close to my natural weight, so (making middleweight) is not difficult at all.”

In the past, ONE Championship’s middleweights would only have been required to weigh in at 185 pounds or less the day prior to the fight, meaning that fighters in the division would typically lose at least 10-20 pounds in the sauna before stepping on the scales. Under the new regulations, middleweights are instead required to prove that their normal, walking weight is 205 pounds or less.

Butler’s first fight in the division was against Tatsuya Mizuno and he finished the seasoned Japanese veteran late in the first round. Mizuno’s been in with the likes of Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Sergei Kharitonov, Gegard Mousasi, Melvin Manhoef, Yoshiyuki Nakanishi, and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. However, Butler doesn’t think this list of past opponents make his most recent win any more impressive.

“It’s hard to make those kinds of comparisons. It was a good win, and I am looking forward to getting another one on August 27th.”

Butler did succeed in finishing the fight, taking Mizuno down and punishing him with ground and pound. After back-to-back decision wins, the Princeton graduate was pleased to win in more decisive fashion.

“It felt great. I think I was fighting a bit too conservative in those decision wins. I didn’t press hard enough to get the finish. In my last fight, I went for it.”

Butler originally joined Evolve MMA as a wrestling coach in 2012, making his pro debut a few months later. At the start of his fighting career he was fairly one-dimensional, but training alongside some of the most renowned fighters and coaches in the world has resulted in rapid progress.

“I’m getting there. Still a work in progress. I have definitely made some big improvements in my striking and grappling, but I feel like I can still get a lot better. Being able to train with all the world champions at Evolve MMA every day, whether it’s Muay Thai, BJJ or wrestling, really helps me improve.”

His ONE: Titles & Titans opponent has won back-to-back fights for the promotion. After stopping Brazilian heavyweight Alexandre Machado in the opening round, Prachnio claimed a split-decision win over Leandro Ataides. Butler felt the Polish fighter was a bit fortunate.

“I thought Ataides won the fight. It was a competitive and close fight, but I thought Ataides edged him. Then again, I’m not a judge and I am not an expert on the details of the scoring system.”

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One fight which he does want to talk about is the middleweight title match between Bigdash and Igor Svirid. It was one of the most entertaining bouts of 2015, but Butler was not overly impressed by the performance of the current middleweight champion.

“It was exciting from a fan’s perspective, but as a fighter, I saw a lot of sloppy mistakes being made. Bigdash was wide open and I think he is a great match-up for me. He has been hiding out with that belt for a long time now.  I’ll be happy to take it back from him.”

Bigdash was initially scheduled to make the first defense of his title against Alexsei Butorin, but pulled out with an injury. The challenger was subsequently beaten by Aung La Nsang, leaving a vacancy to be number one contender, which Butler is hoping to fill.

La Nsang is an obvious candidate for a shot at the belt while Prachnio will be hoping to enhance his title credentials with a win on Saturday. But between them, they have less ONE Championship wins than Butler and the American hopes that one more win will be enough to secure the fight he covets most.