Mick Stanton may not be the most recognised name in combat sports, but he’s been through it all in the fighting world.
Stanton, a former Team GB boxer who trained with the likes of Amir Khan and George Groves in his youth, is now a professional MMA fighter still competing at the highest level.
This weekend, the 38-year-old from Liverpool fights for just shy of £250,000 as part of OKTAGON MMA’s Tipsort Gamechanger middleweight tournament.
Ahead of his fight, Stanton sat down with talkSPORT.com to discuss his transition from a boxer to MMA fighter.
“It’s a totally different sport,” Stanton said. “A boxer coming into MMA, the style, everything’s so different. And an MMA fighter going into boxing, it’s the same thing.
“You can’t, even if you have experience in MMA, at a high level like Francis Ngannou, that doesn’t cross over to boxing.”
Stanton is gearing up for a fight with Milos Petrasek and jets off this weekend to Trinec, Czech Republic, where he will hope to advance into the tournament’s next round to win big.
A life-changing prize of €1million (£828,000) is up for grabs in another thrilling installment of OKTAGON MMA’s tournament, which has been considered by many as the biggest in Europe.
‘The Huyton Hammer’ is a former Cage Warriors middleweight champion and boasts a MMA record of 13 wins with eight defeats.
Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion, explored the world of boxing by taking two huge fights with Brits Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in the last two years.
Although he came very close to winning his debut, suffering a controversial razor-thin split decision defeat to ‘The Gypsy King’, Ngannou suffered a brutal knockout to ‘AJ’ in his next fight.
Stanton’s comments follow news this month that Ngannou would step back into the squared circle once again.
The OKTAGON star recognises why the Cameroonian made that decision, but believes it will take some time for the MMA star to stamp his authority.
“You know, the rounds, different times, more rounds, you learn your ring craft through years and years and years of boxing,” Stanton added.
“Don’t get me wrong, he’s [Ngannou] done absolutely fantastic against Tyson Fury. That wasn’t the best version of Tyson Fury. I understand why he’s doing it.
“There’s a lot more money in boxing. Good on him. Why not? He’s got the balls to get up there and give it a go.
“Good on him. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. But they are two different sports. I have trained with high level boxers.
“And I have trained with high level MMA fighters – the styles are so different. But the MMA fighters, like I said, the main thing is the ring craft and the fight IQ and years and years of experience.”
OKTAGON MMAHe admitted that his heart was broken after leaving boxing[/caption]
Stanton became ‘obsessed’ with boxing from an early age, but had no choice other than taking up MMA, as Team GB’s lack of funding meant was failing to earn a steady income.
The Liverpudlian was scheduled to go to the Junior Olympics and said it ‘broke my heart’ having to leave the sport of boxing.
However, the transition turned out well for Stanton, who was able to adapt from a hands only sport to the art of mixed martial arts.
“Going from boxing to MMA started off fantastic, knocking people out,” Stanton added.
“But then everyone started taking me down. So I had to learn how to wrestle and grapple and I’ve become obsessed with it. I love that now more than boxing.
“I can’t watch boxing anymore. It bores the life out of me. I’ll be honest. It really does. It’s a totally different sport.
“Francis Ngannou, I think he just needs to fight. Maybe not at the high level – he jumped in the deep end.
“He should have had a few, I wouldn’t say easier fights, but he should have had a few fights so he can learn and experience the ring craft.”
Stanton concluded that his ‘life his perfect’ when asked what he would do with £250,000, saying he would invest it into his close family and friends.
Interestingly in the tournament this weekend, ‘Lucky Loser’ fan voting takes place so after each round, the public get to vote for whoever they think deserves a second chance to potentially jump back into the bracket at a later date.
At the end of the opening round, the eight athletes who remain will draw numbers at random before deciding who they want to fight in the quarter finals later next year.
OKTAGON MMA is one of the top mixed martial arts promotions worldwide, being nominated for ‘Promotion of the Year’ at the 2023 and 2023 World MMA Awards.
They currently hold the record for the highest-attended MMA event in the world, having sold out Deutsche Bank Park, usually the home of Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt, for OKTAGON 62.
