UFC veteran Jack Marshman is looking to add another piece of gold to his already glittering trophy cabinet when he crosses the pond this weekend.
The 35-year-old from Abertillery, Wales, is set to square off against BKB cruiserweight world champion Cub Hawkins in the American’s backyard, live on the talkSPORT Boxing YouTube channel from 1am in the early hours of Saturday morning (UK time).
Marshman, a former BAMMA and Cage Warriors middleweight title holder, was the first Welshman to step foot inside the UFC Octagon when he made his debut back in 2016.
‘The Hammer’ competed in MMA‘s premier promotion for four years, compiling a 3-5 record, which included fights with future UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland and light-heavyweight title challenger Thiago Santos.
Now, he is aiming to replicate his successes in bare-knuckle boxing, where he has gotten off to a perfect 2-0 start.
“I fell out of love with MMA at the end of my career,” he told talkSPORT.com.
“The only reason I was doing it was to pay the bills, but BKB is different.
“I’m doing this for the love of having a fight. I used to think that bare-knuckle was a load of rubbish, but the standard is really high now.
“There are a lot of really talented fighters, no pub brawlers like there were five years ago…
“I went in there half-heartedly at the start and got dropped [in my first fight], which p**** me off.
“That lit a fire under me. I never thought I would be fighting for a world title when I started, but I have fallen back in love with fighting, and here we are.”
Marshman is one of Britain’s most decorated MMA fighters, which is made all the more impressive by the fact that he balanced his time in the cage with a career as a paratrooper.
He joined the army when he was 17 years old and served in the 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment for 12 years, where he was deployed to Afghanistan for two separate tours in 2008 and 2010.
GettyMarshman enjoyed a fruitful 23-10 MMA career that included a stint in the UFC[/caption]
In 2019, ahead of his UFC London clash with fellow countryman John Phillips, Marshman got a slap on the wrist from his superiors for taking the fight without their approval.
It led to him handing in his notice and leaving the army in 2020, although he has since returned under the Military Provost Guard Service.
“My officer in command at the time knew that I was fighting, and he had essentially okayed it,” Marshman added.
“But it came from above him that I wasn’t allowed to fight, and they told me on fight week that I couldn’t fight.
“I went and fought anyway, and I joked in the media that I would find out on Monday morning.
BKB 39 full card and details
The full event can be viewed on the talkSPORT Boxing YouTube channel here from 8pm to 11pm Eastern Time on Friday night (1am to 4am UK time Saturday).
Main card
Cub Hawkins vs Jack Marshman
Joshua Oxendine vs Estevan Partida
Andy Nguyen vs Erisnelsy Torres
Maurice Morris vs Dan Vinni
Marlon Moncada vs Isaiah Williams
Ricky Luckadoo vs Rasheam Steele
Dewitt Dixon vs Jarome Hatch
Prelims
Eduardo Perez vs Romain Courcier
Shyanna Bintliff vs Aquasha Rapley
“But I was s***** myself. They gave me a formal warning and told me I couldn’t compete after that, but I got offered another fight in Vegas and left the army, just shy of 12 years.”
Marshman left the UFC in 2020 and joined BKB after a four-year hiatus from combat sports.
He picked himself off the canvas to dispatch Carl Craig in his debut before breaking down Alex Wilson over four rounds.
His victory over the latter earned him a shot at the cruiserweight strap against two-weight world champion Hawkins (6-2).
Hawkins has already beaten one Welshman, legendary knockout artist Daniel Lerwell, but Marshman intends to rewrite the wrong.
“I’m going to get one back for Wales,” Marshman continued.
“Winning the belt for BKB would mean a lot. I’ve won belts that are plastic belts that don’t mean a thing to you.
“But BKB is full of history. That would be up there with my BAMMA and Cage Warriors belts for sure.
“When I win, I want to defend it in Cardiff in front of my home crowd.”
