Phil De Fries is looking to make a huge statement in UK Mixed Martial Arts as he takes on Thomas Denham at Made 4 The Cage 16: Invasion.
De Fries made an impressive return to domestic competition after a spell in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, with a dominant first round submission over Lukasz Parobiec.
However, the Sunderland fighter wasn’t satisfied with that and is targeting a return to the world’s elite organisation, when the UFC tours Europe in 2015.
Speaking to Made4TheCage the 6’4 Heavyweight said he was looking to use this fight as a platform: “Tom’s as game as they come and a great wrestler. However, I’m going out there to make a statement that I belong in the big organisations.”
De Fries now boasts a record of 11-4-1NC and is expected to be a heavy favourite over his 7-6 opponent when Made4TheCage hits Rainton Meadows Arena on February 28th.
When asked about whether or not he feels a return to the UFC is on the cards if all goes well at the end of next month, ‘S-11’ said: “Hopefully, I will contact them about it after my win on Made4TheCage.”
Also fighting on the card is newly crowned frontrowmma.com #1 Ranked UK Heavyweight, replacing De Fries at the top, James ‘The Juggernaut’ Mulheron.
De Fries has been an instrumental figure in ‘The Juggernaut’s’ development and when asked what he felt when Mulheron replaced him in the rankings, De Fries answered: “James absolutely deserves his position in the rankings. Hopefully we will see him signed to the UFC after the next bout, especially now there are shows confirmed in Scotland too.”
The UFC’s 3 European cards may be the perfect return for the huge Englishman and could potentially see the further progress of the standard of European MMA. Will this finally be the time that young British athlete’s like Mulheron and Ryan Scope finally get their long awaited chance to prove themselves on the international stage.
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