Light heavyweight, Iain Rollason, is eager to kick-start his 2022 campaign with a bang after a successful professional debut in 2021.
“Rollo” will be among the action at Full Contact Contender 28 on March 5th against Kofi Marshall and is confident he will display the best version of himself yet.
The current fight card at the Bolton Arena consists of both amateur and professional action from competitors across the country. Tom Crosby and Dez Parker take the main event slot who square of for the FCC British welterweight championship.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Iain Rollason to talk about his previous fight, upcoming fight, and what we can expect from him at Full Contact Contender 28.
Interview with Iain “Rollo” Rollason
As we approach fight night, Iain talks to me about preparation. How has it been, and what has your weekly training schedule consisted of?
Things are going well for a change. I have totally changed things up this time and am actually resting more, and it seems to be working well for me. I do circuits in the mornings. If you check out my Instagram, I post on there about how I train. I also do two nights a week at Thai boxing at The Yard in Workington, where I live.
Then I travel about a 260mile round trip to train at my main gym HAMMA St Helens. At Hamma, I train everything and put the work in from sparing down to technical work.
We last saw you in action on Almighty Fighting Championship 19, making your professional debut. Have you made any changes in camp compared to your last fight, or have things remained the same?
Like I said above, I am resting more and training a bit differently, now training more like a pro. Even tho I still have full-time work. I now make sure I have physio once a week as well.
Transitioning to Professional MMA
As I said, you made your pro-debut at the back end of last 2021. How was that transition from the amateur fights to the pro-ranks, and were you totally satisfied with your win against Daley?
I will be totally honest with you. It wasn’t great. I had Covid 5 weeks before the fight, but I wasn’t going to start telling people as it would look like I was making excuses before I started. It wasn’t a bad step as two of my amateur fight were 5×3 rounds, so I had been in the cage 15mins, but cardio work has to be massively improved for pro MMA.
Your upcoming contest on FCC will mark your first of the year. In terms of competition, what are you hoping to achieve in 2022? Have you set out any goals for yourself?
I haven’t set any goals as I am getting married to my beautiful partner Amy on May 7th, so I will need one month off before then because I have been warned no black eyes for the wedding pictures. Hopefully, I will fight at least 1/2 times again this year, but I have to make sure everything is right with my family, 1st with training so far away from home. I spend a lot of time on the road and not with them, which is the hardest part of fighting for me.
Rollason Gives His Thoughts on Upcoming Matchup
On the night, you will meet Kofi Marshall, who has failed to win in his amateur career and since joining the pro-ranks. In your honest opinion, what are your thoughts on the matchup?
I have no thoughts on the matchup, just in what I have to do, and that goes in there and win and win well. He is just another person in the way. No matter how many wins or losses he has had, he will want the W, and I have to keep his losing record going. Also, they said they wanted the fight 1st, not me. I have never turned a fight down and never will be here to enjoy myself always.
Is it difficult to get motivated for a fight with someone like Kofi? People are expecting you just to walk over him, or does that add a sense of pressure to you?
The is pressure every time you step into the cage, but one thing you will always see from me is a smile. No matter who is standing over the other side of the cage, I will just get in there and do my job. It’s that simple.
What can fans expect to see from Iain Rollason at FCC on March 5th
They will see the best version of me to date. I am leaner and hungrier than ever before, oh and some new fight shorts (laughs).
This is your first outing of the year, with a win on March 5th. How often are you looking to compete this year if injuries prevent that?
I will be getting out when I can to compete, and might even hit the grappling comps, but we will see. I just want to enjoy my wedding and honeymoon and see where it takes me after that.
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Featured Image credits to DN4 Photography
