Wins two fights in London
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – TIJA STANLEY, the Federation’s Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Champion and Heavyweight title holder of the Caribbean Kickboxing Grappling Shou Federation’s Caribbean MMA, has recently turned professional.
The heavyweight MMA fighter had winged out of St. Kitts on Tuesday (July 31) to participate in an Ultimate Cage Contenders MMA event that was held in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, London on Saturday (Aug. 4).
He was invited by Aaron and Chris of the Ultimate Cage Contenders who, in a letter, stated, “It is with great pleasure that we offer you the opportunity to compete in the Ultimate Cage Contenders Mixed Martial Arts-organised event. The event is a unique opportunity for ambitious MMA fighters to demonstrate their ability and potential.”
The two organisers had indicated to Stanley that they would ensure he be paired with a suitable opponent who would provide him with a very challenging experience, and that he might probably be the main event fighter.
They lived up to their promise, and on fight-night the 94kgs-warrior was pitted against Martin Lay, a 90kgs Englishman, whom he defeated by TKO with a body punch in the 36th second of the first round.
This fantastic feat drew the attention of the organisers and Stanley was given the opportunity to immediately register as a professional, which he did.
Now a professional, Stanley’s second fight for the night and on that same card was against a heavier (115kgs) professional who is also from England.
A similar feat was achieved, as the local fighter, by way of arm-bar, forced Kristian Birchel to submit in the 40th second of the first round.
In an exclusive interview, Stanley told SKNVibes that he is still basking in his victories and that he is communicating with a few sub-corporations under the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in order to “compete with the big boys”.
“I am an athlete, but not in the track and field discipline as those who have made us Kittitians and Nevisians proud. However, being the first Mixed Martial Arts fighter in the Federation to turn pro, it is my intention to become a world renowned cage fighter and also make our nation proud through my exploits,” Stanley said.
Stanley strongly believes in keeping his body fit and prepared for eventualities even though he is not slated to fight anyone at this time, because, as he said, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”
He was introduced to MMA in 2010 and had his first fight when the Sandy Point SPIRIT staged its Black San’ Bang-a-Lang festival in 2011in Sandy Point.
Stanley then joined the Apocalypse Mixed Martial Arts Club, where he met Alex Lewis and Livine Stevens, who had all journeyed to Trinidad in 2011 to participate in the Caribbean Kickboxing Grappling Shou Federation’s Caribbean MMA Championship.
They were victorious in their weight categories – Lewis in the middleweight division, Stevens in the lightweight and Stanley in the heavyweight division.
They went back to Trinidad earlier this year but returned with mixed results.
While Stanley successfully defended his title by defeating Kirk Goddard of Barbados in the fourth round by submission, Stevens lost his to Cory Weithers, also from Barbados, and Lewis returned with his belt because there was no opponent in his division.
In addition to communicating with sub-corporations under the UFC, Stanley is currently negotiating contracts and is positive of successfully signing one in the near future.
