Friday's Fighter: Martin Stapleton.

This week we got to catch up with Martin Stapleton on the verge of his much anticipated bout against Ashley Smith at Clash of Warriors ‘No Way Out’.

Most of you will be well aware of Martin Stapleton from ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ Series 09 or his recent TKO victory over Andrew Fisher at Strike and Submit 11. ‘Stapes’ is one of the hardest working professional fighters around as you will see from this interview. He has a vast amount of knowledge and interest in strength and conditioning as a Royal Marines Physical Training Instructor and combined with his MMA routines, Martin lives and breaths training from the moment he awakes to the end of his day.

His strengths are rounded off in many areas and he is especially known for his striking and some solid leg kicks, but his underrated wrestling skills and ground an pound cannot be left out when you see him slam an opponent to the canvas and get a TKO result.

Stapes is a UK fighter to be proud of and undoubtedly a fighter who will go onto make his mark within international MMA.

UK MMA News: Hi Martin, good of you to speak to us just before your next fight, how has the training and preparation been for you?

Martin Stapleton: No probs at all, yeh training has been great for this fight i’ve spent a lot of time over in Liverpool training with Team Kaobon and my brother has helped push me through my daily conditioning regime, i’ve had 4 week’s off work to train full time and everything has gone great.

UK MMA News: Could you tell us how you worked your way up to turning pro in 2007? You started off in Muay Thai? How did you progress into MMA?

Martin Stapleton: I only ever did inter-club fights in Muay Thai, i had some amateur boxing experience too but to be honest i just threw myself in at the deep end with MMA! I spent 6 months in Iraq in 2004 and when i got back we were given a lot of time off to settle down, whilst i’d been out there id been watching a lot of UFC DVD’s and i just knew id be good at it so when i got back i got in touch with Dave Butlin (Owner of the Quannum Gym and now Head Coach of the M-1 England Team) and started training. I took my first fight at Semi Pro after about 8 months training and won by TKO and it just carried on from there.

UK MMA News: Your a Commando with the Royal Marines which when combined with your MMA training must add up to a mammoth schedule, how does an average week look / work out for you?

Martin Stapleton: BUSY! Yeh, its hard trying to fit training in around being a Marine but i manage it by just being disciplined and managing my time well. I’m in charge of 2 Troops of recruits, 1 troop is full of recruits that are injured and need rehab and the other Troop is recruits who need extra strength, conditioning and technical training to get them back up to speed. So on an average day looks like this:

0600-0700- get up (depending on whether or not i have to take my recruits for a run)

0800-1200- Instruct individual and group rehab classes with my injured recruits

1200-1330- i’m on my break so i get all my strength and conditioning done, we’ve got one of the best equipped gyms i’ve ever seen at our camp and its very “Athlete orientated”.

1330-1600- Instruct individual and group strength and conditioning sessions for my recruits who are getting their fitness back up

1600-1730- each day differs slightly but usual either Boxing or Thai

1730-1900- get my paperwork done for the day and any admin that needs doing

1900-2100- Again each day is slightly different but usually Grappling, MMA or Wrestling,

After all this is finished i usually just collapse on my bed reading MMA magazines or watching old fights or instructional’s, then wake up in the morning and start again!!

UK MMA News: So you are now on the verge of fighting Ashley Smith at Clash of Warriors. This looks to be a good match up as you both hold similar records (6 -1 to Smiths 5-1). Without giving away any game plan, what is your general approach going to be for this bout?

Martin Stapleton: I’ve watched a lot of Ashley’s fights and he seems to be very athletic and a good all-rounder, i think its going to be my toughest test yet, so iv worked a lot on my conditioning because i see it being a fast paced, aggressive fight, i’m not going to talk about my game plan but my coaches have come up with what we think is the best way to beat this guy. To be honest i just want to show how much i’ve improved in the last few months, i feel like i’m twice the fighter i was back then.

UK MMA News: We know you are dead set on getting another chance in the UFC. What is your plan for getting yourself into that much deserved place back in the octagon?

Martin Stapleton: Keep fighting, keep winning basically! I need to get good fights against tough opponents and prove to the UFC and to the UK fans that i’m worthy of being there, that said, im not focusing on that right now, all i’m focussing on is my next fight, i don’t want to look into the future as i’ve got a very tough Ashley Smith shaped obstacle in my way!!

UK MMA News: Who do you admire and see as the most rounded and talented individual currently in MMA and who would you tip off as another up and coming fighter in the UK that you expect to make some waves?

Martin Stapleton: Hard, Hard question! I think on the world wide scene you would have to say GSP is the most well rounded fighter, he has it all-not the most exciting to watch but for me he is the most well rounded. I find it pretty funny that im being asked about “up and comers” as i’m still an up and comer myself, i’ve only had 7 pro fights!!! But seen as you asked there are two guys that stick out in my mind, the first is Mark Scanlon, Mark’s been unable to fight for about 10 months due to an injury but is still undefeated as a pro, and when he is back in action i think you’ll be hearing a lot about him, the guys has got unbelievable skills in all areas and has a very intelligent approach to fighting and training,

Mark will be back in action soon at OMMAC 2. The second guy is Scott Hewitt, a really good friend of mine, Scott has also been side lined due to injury for a while but recently returned to action in the M-1 challenge, he had a tough first round but came out in the second and performed a text book arm bar against a BJJ Brown Belt which goes to show how good his submission skills are, look out for him to make waves over the next few years.

UK MMA News: Finally, who would you like to mention or send a special thanks to?

Martin Stapleton: Everyone who has helped me prep for this fight and everyone that has been working behind the scene’s to get me noticed you all know who you are!! And a special thanks to my brother Mike who always helps me out so much in my prep for my fights!

Martin Stapleton is Sponsored by:

Caged steel
Sci-Mentor Nutrition
Chokeout Poker

Contact Ian Dean for promotional inquiries.

Martins Next fight will be this Saturday 5th of September in Nottingham for Clash of Warriors ‘No Way Out’

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