Exciting Suffolk MMA prospect Jimmy Fell is now a two-promotion champion – and he’s taking aim at a step up to the full Cage Warriors show for his next fight on the path to turning profesional.
Fell, 26, lifted the Cage Warriors Academy South East amateur featherweight title with a unanimous points win over the highly-ranked and hotly-tipped champion George Tanasa, of the powerhouse BKK Fighters Gym, earlier this month.
He adds that belt to the Contenders 145lb gold already hanging on his wall and, having stolen Tanasa's hype and momentum, life is looking good for Fell (now 5-1), who trains under much-respected coach Windy Miller at Blue Wave Martial Arts in Bury.
MORE: Fell lifts gold at Contenders 26
"It's an amazing feeling," he said of his new 'champ champ' status. "We're still thinking about what comes next, but we're looking at defending the belts a couple of times, maybe get on the main Cage Warriors card as an amateur and then turn over (to the professional ranks).
"We're not going to rush into anything though - we hold all the cards. We want to progress as quickly and efficiently as we can, but if that means turning pro next year, or the year after, who knows? We'll see what happens."
Of the much-anticipated fight with Tanasa, which saw a good deal of trash talk in the build-up, Fell - who switched to a southpaw striking stance for the clash - added: "The gameplan worked exactly as we wanted it to. We knew George would come out strong in the first round, but we also knew he'd tire and gas, and that's exactly what happened.
"When we'd watched George, we realised that he doesn't adapt well when he's faced with adversity or something unexpected, so we threw the southpaw stance in there and it worked.
"Nothing surprised me about the fight - George threw, and landed, some big hard shots, but they were telegraphed, so I could deal with them.
"I just don't think the guys at BKK thought that I had any stand-up at all, it's just the way my previous fights have gone.
"I also think George might have underestimated me a bit - not Jack (Mason) and the team at BKK - but I think George just thought he could overwhelm me. "That was never going to happen."
He also praised Miller's input, saying: "With Windy, everything is cerebral and tactics. We do very little hard sparring, everything is about thinking our way around the challenge in front of us."
So just how far can Fell, a BJJ purple belt with an extensive boxing background, go in the sport?
"I'd like to think that I can make the UFC," he said. "I'm just going to keep going until I get to a level where I can't go any further. I've never been outclassed yet though, so we'll see how it goes."
- Fell also thanked his sponsors - VXS Gymwear and Live Long Osteopaths at Hyntle Barn.
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