Martin Stapleton: Rochdale's pro cage fighter to compete in USA tournament

Photo: Journeaux

Cage fighter - Martin Stapleton

Rochdale’s Martin “50 Cal” Stapleton will make his Bellator MMA debut in the Bellator lightweight tournament opening round.

The eight man tournament will see Stapleton take on Californian Saad Awad in the Rose Garden Arena, Portland, USA on 27 September.

The Ultimate Fighter season nine competitor, Martin Stapleton, recently signed a six-fight deal with Bellator MMA and this will be his first fight of the contract.

Stapleton, a former Royal Marines Commando, is currently on a eight-fight winning streak; he was the 2012 Cage Contender Fight Stars eight-man tournament winner, having defeated Jamie Rogers and Arnold Quero before beating Tommy Maguire in the final.

He holds a professional MMA record of 12-1-0, with four of his twelve wins coming by TKO/KO, three via submission and five by decision.

If Stapleton wins his fight in September, he will move on to the semi-finals in October. 

Winning the tournament would make him the first British person to win a world title.

Martin spoke to Rochdale Online about the fight and said: “I don’t really get nervous and I don’t really like to get excited until I get there.

“It’s about securing the win. It keeps me more focused.”

Martin said he would like to mention his sponsors, www.cross-deck.co.uk who support people looking to get into the security industry. Martin is also looking for other sponsors.