Former NFC amateur Featherweight Champion and Newnan resident Mike Wilson debuted in his first pro-fight Friday, Dec. 11, against A’keem Bashir in the main event of NFC 128 in Atlanta.
By Arvon Bacon
Former NFC amateur Featherweight Champion and Newnan resident Mike Wilson debuted in his first pro-fight Friday, Dec. 11, against A’keem Bashir in the main event of NFC 128 in Atlanta.
Upon moving up to the professional level, three five-minute rounds will now be the new norm for the former champion, in addition to the plethora of detrimental moves. However, despite the new rules, Wilson feels that his style of pushing the pace and utilizing takedowns to implement his jiu-jitsu will translate very well to the longer timed rounds.
“Most guys can’t keep up with the pace that I push, and during the three-minute rounds there were a lot of fights where I was just getting settled into the rounds, and then the round was over,” said Wilson. “Now I have an extra two minutes to grind on the guy, which is an extra six minutes throughout the whole fight, so the cardio advantage is going to be even greater at professional.”
After being one of the most decorated amateur Featherweight champions during his two-year reign, Wilson has relinquished his title, and will now fight at 135 pounds to qualify for the Bantamweight division.
To begin the bout, Wilson was very much in control, knocking Bashir to the canvas on a push kick to the body; which led to Wilson’s takedown on Bashir. Upon the takedown, the two scrambled for position on the ground, with Wilson gaining the dominant position on top.
Despite the dominant first round by the Independent MMA fighter, Wilson would be defeated by Bashir, via submission in the second round.
Wilson’s had some time to rewatch the fight and deemed it the best performance of his career.
“In the first six minutes, I was able to outclass him in just about every position. I had a couple of submission attempts, dropped him on the feet with a good kick; everything was going too well,” Wilson said. “In the second round, he caught me with an elbow on the first exchange, but I shot back in to get him on the ground because I had a lot of success there in the first round. I got a little complacent, and I just got caught; it’s a fast sport where things happen in milliseconds.”
Despite coming up short, Wilson knows this is only the beginning for him, and his first pro fight will be a memory he will always cherish.
“That was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had; it was my first pro fight, and I got to be the main event — be able to be the last fighter to walk out and hear the crowd and have that big welcoming from the crowd announcers, it’s something. I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
“I’ve been in this position before; I lost my first two amateur fights and came back to be the most decorated champion in amateur history,” he continued. “I want to thank the fans, Tim Stout and Associates, Compass Realty and Hero Roofing for sponsoring me and making sure that I had everything I needed during this whole process.”
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'Mad Mike' Wilson comes up short in first pro fight - Newnan Times-Herald
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