March 24, 2012 is going to be a very special night for MMA enthusiasts when the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham plays host to BAMMA 9.

Watson vs. Marshman is a stacked card from the bottom up, but any match that involves Colin ‘The Freakshow’ Fletcher is guaranteed to entertain fight fans who always eagerly wait in the wings to witness his extraordinary entrance.

At BAMMA 8 Colin received a perplexed reaction from security guards as they were about to escorted him into the arena.  “I got some funny looks from the staff at BAMMA when I was riding around on my tricycle, but not as much as when I was walking around London dressed in my full clown outfit for my pre-fight photos,” says Fletcher.

Colin Fletcher making one of his spectacular entrances

Colin Fletcher is definitely a colourful character; however he’s also an intelligent and highly skilled fighter who’s not to be taken lightly when the cage door slams.  At BAMMA 8, Fletcher defeated David Round by guillotine choke and at BAMMA 9 he will be facing off against Jason Ball.  There’s even talk that Fletcher’s next opponent may be the famous French-Canadian fighter, Sir Que-Lar, but for the moment Colin is focusing all his attention on Jason Ball.

Knucklepit was fortunate to catch up with Fletcher to ask him about his recent victory and his upcoming BAMMA.

Colin, did any of them ask why you’re called ‘The Freakshow’?

After seeing me and my vehicle, no one really questioned why I’m called ‘The Freakshow’.  I got a few funny looks though.

Just out of curiosity, what were you like in class at school and were you the teachers’ worst nightmare?

No, not really.  I was quite quiet at school.  I did draw some quite disturbing pictures in Art though.  I’ve got a pretty strange imagination as the world will soon find out.

How did you celebrate your victory over David Round?

 

To celebrate my last BAMMA victory I bought myself some new clown boots and a cheeky new squirty flower.

Can you give a brief rundown of the fight, please, Colin?

Yeah, I felt really comfy in the fight.  I was expecting David to come out swinging and I was completely shocked when he wanted to get the fight to the ground so fast; so I just had to relax and weather the storm.  After getting swung about a bit like a wet towel I got my arms around his neck and I knew the fight was over.

David did come out very aggressively with his game plan obviously to rattle you and secure an early win.  What were your thoughts at the time?

I feel pretty emotionless when I fight so when David tried to put me away early it didn’t really rattle me.  I just had to deal with it and adapt to how the fight was going and wait for an opportunity to finish.

‘The Freakshow’ is all business in the cage.

You made your BAMMA debut at BAMMA 8 and you said, “It will be my biggest fight to date and I’m really looking forward to showing what the ‘The Freakshow’ is all about on a larger scale.”  Were you happy with the crowd’s response?

I loved every moment of my BAMMA fight.  I thought it might feel strange in the big arena but I felt as relaxed as ever.  I’d fetched about 100 people down with me so I knew I’d hear some noise but I was over the moon with the response from the crowd.

Colin Fletcher disappointed he wasn’t chosen for jury duty.

You fought four matches in 2011, and you’re now backing up with consecutive BAMMAs.  How does the frequent competition work for you?

I like to fight quite regularly.  It keeps me out of trouble: Otherwise I’d fall back into old tricks of hiding in peoples’ cupboards and under their beds; but I’m becoming more of a sophisticated scary clown these days and putting the evil clown days behind me.

Jason Ball is coming off two losses and you’ve won your last three bouts; does that give you a psychological advantage over him?

I don’t think anything would give me a psychological advantage over Jason Ball. He’s got to be the coolest guy in MMA and I’m really looking forward to him punching me in the face. 

He has fought 28 matches to your 8; do you believe you will still be able to upset his game with your unorthodox style of fighting?

Jason’s had a lot of fights with some of the best fighters around.  I’m not too bothered about upsetting his game plan really, but I think he’ll struggle to execute his game plan because even I don’t know what I’m going to do before I do it, so it’s going to be even harder for him to guess.

All of your wins have come about via submissions and Jason has had more success with his striking.  How will your stand-up game compare with his, and are you confident you will be able to take him down if you choose to?

I’m very confident in all areas of my MMA.  I’ll fight anyone, anywhere and be confident.  I’m not bothered if the fight stays up or goes to the ground.  I train pretty much all day every day.  I live for this shit.

Do you have a prediction for this bout?

I don’t really do predictions but I’ll say if we’re both not bleeding I’ll be very disappointed.

What is you long-term goal in MMA?

My long time goal is to become known as the most scary man clown in the whole world.

Your sponsors?

Thanks to my sponsors: Lonsdale, Made4thecage and the Cube Spennymoor.

Colin, is there anything you would like to add?

Thanks to all my training partners at Unity gym, the Fightpit and Spartans gym.