BASSETERRE, St. KITTS - THE Federation’s first ever Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) professional fighter and Heavyweight title holder of the Caribbean Kickboxing Grappling Shou Federation’s Caribbean (CKGSFC), Tija Stanley, has reflected on past months of mixed returns in his trade.
Speaking with SKNVibes, Stanley said that over the past few months was training, trying to stay active and show his face more in the sport community and in the world of MMA.
“I had two fights in two weeks in the month of May. I had a fight in Aruba against their best national fighter. He has fought in the US and in a big organisation called Bellator. His name is Gregory Milliard and I lost to him in the second round.”
He however bounced back in his second fight of the match and is preparing for a rematch in October.
“My second fight was against a guy from Jamaica. His name is Robert McCarthy and he fights for a corporation called Caribbean Ultimate Fist Fighting. We fought for a professional middleweight title at 191 pounds.
“I came out victorious in the second round by a north-south choke and right now I am preparing to fight for a new organisation in a rematch versus Robert McCarthy for the International Cage Warriors in Curacao.”
Outside of the ring, Stanley claimed that he has been meeting with a number of promoters and marketing himself for new opportunities.
“I have mainly been on the phone and on the internet talking with organisations and showing my face more to let it be known that I am one of the Caribbean’s more premier fighters.
“There are not too many fighters that go around doing what I do. I have been to five different countries in the last 10 months. It just made a year in August that I have been fighting professionally.”
He also made mention of an interaction he had with an individual who fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), which is the largest mixed martial arts promotion company in the world.
“This past May I met a fighter from the UFC who has been actively fighting. His name is Johnny Bedford and we had been hanging out the whole time down in Trinidad, and he was talking about how they are still looking for fighters. He also said that for me, anything is possible.”
