Mason Jones targets KO finish against Alan Patrick for first UFC win

Mason Jones is planning to finish his veteran opponent Alan Patrick this weekend, and begin his ascent up the UFC rankings.

The Welshman was an unbeaten two-division Cage Warriors champion when the UFC signed him last year, but he suffered his first loss in a thrilling bout against Mike Davis which netted him a £35,000 consolation bonus for Fight of the Night.

And Jones, who claims to be "proud to be arrogant", is backing that confidence up by refusing to take any easy fights after making it to the top table in MMA; facing on promotional veteran Patrick on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

"I believe it will be a second round TKO," the 26-year-old told Mirror Fighting. "He'll gas in the first, I'll stop him from taking me down, he'll try four takedowns and then I'll finish him.

"He's a proper vet, he's had around ten fights in the UFC, he's a tall lightweight, he's around 6 foot and his reach is longer than mine.

"He's got a wild style, but the main issue with this fight is going to be the wrestling stages because he's going to try and get me down, but I want to keep it standing and have some fun.

"If it goes down to the ground, I'm still confident that I can control the fight, because I've trained extensively directly for him, my analysis on him is deep on his style and game plan.

"I'm more than confident that I'll be able to beat him… He's just the start of my climb and he's going to secure my foundations when I flatten him on Saturday."

Jones' first outing in the UFC was an impressive one, losing a narrow decision to Davis but earning a performance bonus which provided the former two-weight champion with a life-changing sum of money.

But he opted not to spend it wildly in the lavish surroundings of Abu Dhabi in the immediate aftermath and instead has implored fighters to be careful with their finances.

"I don't really do this for money," he continued. "For me, fight purses are just about paying my coach's expenses and to help out with different things.

"I ended up with $63,000 which once you exchange it is around £45,000, so I put ten grand in one savings account, ten in another, paid off my bills, coaches, management fees and then I was left with a tidy sum to play with.

"I like to save most of it to be honest… I don't really like to live above my means.

"There were a few things I needed to learn, I got paid into the wrong account and while it's a life-changing amount of money I know it's just a start.

"You don't to lead a lifestyle where you're fighting just to cover your bills and medical costs, and it's easy for fighters to fall into that."

And while Jones understands he is fighting for his life in the promotion, he is happy to be honing his skills on MMA's grandest stage.

"Fighting just makes my soul happy," he added. "It makes me feel alive like nothing else has, and I've tried skydiving, driving different cars, motorbikes.

"I tried partying a lot, I've never been a big drinker and always said no to drugs, I don't like the loss of control and drugs have never appealed to me.

"There's no buzz like a fighting buzz, the whole feeling of being in control of a fight, there's nothing like it.

"The walk, even the weight cut, nobody likes cutting weight but I love the feeling you get after you've made weight and even the big drop after I lost to Mike, I low-key liked it.

"Obviously the loss was devastating, but by the time I got out of the cage I was moving forward."

Jones vs Patrick will air as part of the prelims for UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs Sakai, at a special start time of 10PM British time on BT Sport 2.

Source: Read Full Article