Jordan Little is an English amateur Mixed Martial Artist currently competing in the Welterweight division, representing Gloucester Range. He has competed for World Total Full Contact Association, Meltdown Fighting Championships, Golden Ticket Fight Promotions, Raged MMA UK, The Four Nations Championships, IMMAF, Cage Warriors and Cage Warriors Academy Wales.
I’d like to start things off by thanking you for taking the time to speak with me today Jordan as it’s so soon after your inclusion in the IMMAF‘s, as well as your upcoming bout at Cage Warriors Academy Wales.
“That’s alright man, cheers for having me on.”
No problem at all.
Many exceptional amateurs such as yourself strive to achieve your dreams, the IMMAF‘s is the biggest place for so many athletes to test themselves against the best the amateur world has to offer.
It must have been an amazing experience to represent your country at the IMMAF European Championships?
“Yeah, the IMMAF‘s are great, it was one of the best experiences I’ve had. On day one I defeated a world gold medalist, a strong wrestler from Ukraine. Day two was a bit controversial but we won’t go into that haha. It was a good experience, even after I stopped fighting I was cornering my teammates, making sure the squad was ready, doing what needed to be done to go get medals. Even though I was out of the competition I don’t mean others are, so you get to step up.”
Absolutely, it is a great platform for amateur competitors. I caught your 1st bout, you did phenomenally.
“Thank you, I was gutted as my second one was probably better than my first by miles.”
Now the proverbial dust has settled over your second walk to the IMMAF stage with Team England, what did you take from your participation?
“I’d say one of the main things I took was the experience of fighters from other countries. On the local stage you think you’re competing against some of the best, then all of a sudden you have someone in front of you with a completely different style, who trains in a completely different way. Who has a completely different lifestyle. Here in England I think it’s more of a sport/hobby, and if you want a career within it you push for it. Whereas in certain countries, this is their ticket out, this is a way of getting out of their country and making their lives better. Some people take it for granted I think, take it easy, you’ve got to work hard to be on the same kinda level, and also, teamwork in general. You think you’re going out there as individuals because you don’t train together and don’t really know each other, but when we got out there, we were a proper squad, we pushed each other. Each fight I had, as well as my teams, I had the crowd and the team cheering me on, in comparison to 2019 where it felt like a team of individuals.
It looked like such a tremendous experience.
What advice would you give to young hopefuls looking to join forces with the EMMAA and represent their country on future IMMAF events?
“To anyone who doesn’t know about it and wants to get involved, they should definitely attend some team training sessions to get the experience. Get to know all the coaches, see how they work, and to see how your potential teammates work. It’s one of best experiences. Some people find it hard to get five fights in a year, but on IMMAF you can have five fights in a week, there’s a massive difference. I’ve been fortunate enough to have had like 10 fights in the last 11 months, a lot of people don’t get that. It is a huge opportunity. Not just for skill, it also gets your name out there, if you’re trying to make it a career you need the following. It helps you on social media, it really pushes you in every direction, you’re testing yourself against the best, if you get a couple of highlight reel finishes on IMMAF people know who you are, because it’s posted everywhere. You have a huge opportunity to build a career out of it, and also to see where your level is competing against other countries.”
I completely agree, it’s a great opportunity, the EMMAA really do their utmost for you guys to achieve your goals.
Fight fans have come to expect to not stand on ceremony in regards to catching you out there once again in recent years. In 24 hours, you once again head into the lion’s den at Cage Warriors Academy Wales, taking on Results Gym Forfar’s James Pattie.
What do you make of James in the build-up to your scheduled meeting at the EBBW Vale Sports Centre?
“I don’t know too much about James being from Scotland, I’m not gonna know much about him. In the short period I’ve started learning about him, I don’t think he knows much. He thinks the IMMAF‘s are for beginners, that people have no clue. He took the mick out of them saying they were shin pads. You do wear shin pads but they’re paper thin, and also it makes people think they can kick harder because you got the protection, then all of a sudden you’ve got some of the hardest leg kicks you’ve ever had. I’ve watched a few of his fights, technically I wouldn’t say he has any ability, I’d say he’s just got strength. He has size on me I believe because I think he’s had fights at Middleweight normally. Which is no problem, I’ve fought guys that the day before weigh-ins being 77 Kilos and on the day turning up in their low 90’s so it’s no problem. I think I’m faster, I do think I’m probably stronger because of the technical ability behind it. You can have brute strength, but if you’re technical and fast you incorporate that into your strength. I think this should be a good fight, I think he will come into this underestimating me. He clearly hasn’t done his research because he’s talking about pushing the pace, I’m someone that doesn’t get tired, it’s my main thing. You can work on me as much as you want, I’ve got the cardio to keep going, that’s my main asset, if you think you can push th pace with me you’re very wrong.”
It’s definitely gonna be a great collision, no doubt.
It’s set to be yet another action packed night in Wales with such a huge card. Other than your inclusion on the night are there any matchups in particular that you’re looking forward to witnessing?
“I’ve got 2 of my teammates fighting that I’m buzzing to see fight, 1 of them is the same weight as me. He’s fighting a guy that I’ve already fought. I think that’s gonna be a very interesting fight, I think people may underestimate him because he’s quite quiet, he doesn’t use social media, he’s not had many fights but he has a lot of skill that people haven’t seen. The other teammate is strong, he’s a weight class above me, a talented fighter, this could be the fight that gets him back into the line he needs to be in. He’s good, he’s got a lot of experience behind him to get somewhere.”
It’s definitely the quiet ones you have to look out for, I look forward to witnessing you all out there.
As previously stated, you have left no stone unturned in your quest to keep as active as you possibly can in the cage. What can fight fans expect from you as we edge closer to 2023?
“I’ve got to talk to my coach about this properly, I don’t know whether we’re looking at the pro ranks in the new year, probably holding it off ever so slightly. But if we do hold it off I’m definitely looking to compete at the IMMAF world’s. I think I should have gone a bit further in the European Championships as I think I could have made it to the finals so I think it makes sense. If my coach thinks it’s best to go pro, he knows best, he’s been there done that, I trust him, so we’ll go from there.”
Well wherever you end up in the new year, I do wish you all the best of luck mate.
“Thank you.”
Anytime mate.
It’s been a pleasure speaking with you today Jordan and I wish you all the best for tomorrow and your future plans.
“Thank you man.”
Last but not least, do you have a message for the fans that will be in attendance at the EBBW Vale and anybody you’d like to give a shout-out to?
“Yeah, I wanna thank everybody that supports me, not just for this fight but for every fight so far. I’m 18 fights deep, everytime you buy a ticket that’s quite a bit of money adding up, so I appreciate the support. Thank you to Ashley James Electrical Services for sponsoring me when I went to the world. Without your help I couldn’t have been there. Thank you to my family and to my partner, because without you it would be a lot harder.”
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