Washington on board with MFC

Posted on | January 10, 2011 | No Comments

Highly touted lightweight will make debut against Glover

One of the brightest lightweight prospects in all of mixed martial arts has signed with the Maximum Fighting Championship and will make his organizational debut at MFC 28: Supremacy.

Robert “The Beast” Washington (9-1), who is a member of the Matt Hughes-led H.I.T. Squad, has agreed to a multi-fight deal, and he jumps right into the mix by squaring off against Tyrone “T$” Glover (5-0) on Friday, Feb. 25 on HDNet Fights (10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT – check local listings for channel designation).

“I think every fighter’s goal should be to become a champion,” stated Washington. “I’ve never had the chance to be a champion and the biggest goal of my life is to fight for a belt. I want to be the best 155-pounder in the world and I train for that every day. I’m super excited to be in the MFC where I will get the chance to make that happen.”

It has been tough sledding for Washington to reach this point in his career, but he has ably managed a full-time job, being a single father, and developing his fight skills. While he is now solely focused on fighting, Washington’s early bout schedule and training were entwined with his role as a petty officer second-class with the United States Navy. The East St. Louis, Illinois, native originally got his feet wet in MMA while stationed in Guam, and then further immersed himself while anchored in San Diego where he also began a three-year stint with the Navy wrestling team.

“It took a lot of sacrifice,” Washington explained of his early foray into the sport. “I had to be at work with the Navy at 7:30 in the morning so I trained from 5 until 7:15. Then I’d be at work until 5 and then back to train from 5:30 to 7 at night – Monday through Friday. I never took any vacation. My vacation days were used to travel for my fights.”

The 27-year-old remains a member of the Navy reserves though now his focus is squarely on taking his abilities in the ring to a higher level. He’ll get a good test of his game against Glover, who himself is a highly touted prospect.

“He’s got a similar wrestling background. He’s got some very good jiu-jitsu but I’m not afraid to go to the ground with him,” Washington detailed. “I’m not going to shoot right in on him but I think I’ll be fine if it goes to the ground because he won’t be able to hold me down.

“But I wouldn’t mind keeping it standing with him. I think my striking is at a level where I can go toe-to-toe with him. I think it’s a good matchup and it’s going to be an exciting fight.”

Glover, who also recently inked a multi-fight contract to join the MFC’s lightweight ranks, echoed his high anticipation for the bout.

“He’s a tough opponent. I’ll be there on February 25th to throw down and put on a good show for the fans,” added Glover.

MFC 28: Supremacy, which will be held live at the River Cree Resort and Casino, features the following main-card matchups:

Light-heavyweight title – Dwayne Lewis vs. Ryan Jimmo

Lightweight – Kajan Johnson vs. Richie Whitson

Light-heavyweight – Razak Al-Hassan vs. Rodney Wallace

Welterweight – Thomas Denny vs. Sheldon Westcott

Lightweight – Robert Washington vs. Tyrone Glover

A sixth and final main-card bout will added in the very near future along with the undercard.

VIP, Row 1 and Row 2 tickets for MFC 28: Supremacy are currently available exclusively through the MFC Ticket Hotline at (780) 504-2024. All other tickets will be available via Ticketmaster shortly.