English bantamweight contender Jack Cartwright is ready to take on one of Oktagon MMA’s best at Oktagon 61 in Brno, and he’s promised not to play it safe in his pursuit of victory.
Cartwright is set to face former Oktagon featherweight champion Mate Sanikidze at the Winning Group Arena on Saturday, with victory likely to propel him towards a shot at the promotion’s bantamweight title.
And, while he’s coming off a decision loss to former champion Jonas Magard at Oktagon 52 in Birmingham, Cartwright is adamant that he won’t change his all-gas, no brakes approach to his fights.
Chatting exclusively with me for the RDX Sports Podcast, Cartwright laid out the mindset that has made him one of the most exciting, and dangerous, bantamweights in Europe.
“I’m a risk taker! I’m a gambler!” he grinned.
“I’m not going to hold you down. I saw his last fight, this guy, Mate. I saw his last fight. I ain’t gonna do that do you, bro. I’m not going to try to hump you to death. That isn’t my style.
“If I take you down, it’s to try and fucking punch your head in, or strangle you. I don’t want a boring fight. My last fight was f*****g boring. I didn’t like my last fight, right? I’m not here for that. I’m not here to go and fight you for 15 minutes and people (are) bored. If people see me on the card, I want them to think, ‘Don’t go for a p**s when this guy’s fighting. He’s coming for a scrap. That’s why I’m coming.’”
The manner of Cartwright’s defeat to Magard last time out still rankles with the Bolton man, who found himself up against a fighter, who continually looked to shoot for takedowns in a fight that saw the Dane utilise an effective wrestle-heavy gameplan that shut down Cartwright’s explosive approach.
While Cartwright accepts that Magard’s approach was effective and successful, the relative lack of excitement in the matchup didn’t sit well with him, and he plans to show the real him this time around against Sanikidze.
“I don’t wake up every day and go and scrap with 20 guys for a boring fight,” he stated.
“I want my kid to grow up and know his dad’s an exciting fighter. I want my friends and family to come. I’ve got people traveling over to the Czech Republic. They don’t come to my fights to watch boring s**t, you know?
“I’ll risk it, you know what I mean? I said before I fought Jonas, ‘I’m gonna risk it, man. My chin will be up in the air, and I will be swinging heavy punches.’ That’s what I was doing. And the little motherf****r was shooting, trying to take me down the whole time. And he hit me with some big punches, man. But then when he realised I could eat them, he was f*****g diving for my legs, right? Fair play, bro. Fair play, Jonas.”
But, while Magard may have been able to use his skillset to nullify Cartwright on that particular evening, the Brit doesn’t see Sanikidze having the same success.
“This tall motherf****r, ain’t getting underneath my punches, let me tell you!” he said.
“I’m gonna f*****g grab him. I’m gonna punch him up. That’s it, man. I’m here for exciting fights, I’m here to win, and I’m here to throw heavy punches and take risks, whether that be submissions, whether that be strikes. I’m not happy with decisions, really.
“Obviously, if it’s a choice of a decision win or a f***** loss, I’m taking this decision – I’m not stupid. But I’ll be hunting that submission from the first second till the last second. I’ll be hunting the knockout from the first second to the last and if you if I catch you slipping, I’m going to f*****g do you. That’s always been my style, whether I’ve been boxing, wrestling, doing MMA, I’m not a boring guy. I’m a hunter. I’m a finisher. And you’ll see that again come the 21st.”
Oktagon 61: Fight card
MAIN CARD
- Ronald Paradeiser vs. Acoidan Duque – Tipsport Gamechanger semi-final
- Makhmud Muradov vs. Scott Askham
- Losene Keita vs. Mateusz Legierski – Tipsport Gamechanger semi-final
- Lucie Pudilova vs. Cecilie Bolander
- Andrej Kalasnik vs. Ioannis Palaiologos
- Vladimir Lengal vs. Corey Fry
- Tomas Hron vs. Fred Sikking – Underground rules bout
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Mate Sanikidze vs. Jack Cartwright
- Jakub Tichota vs. George Staines
- Radek Rousal vs. Nezar Bahaji
- Attila Korkmaz vs. Agy Sardari – Tipsport Gamechanger Reserve bout
- Jan Stanovsky vs. Gleb Shadrin
