James Clarke discussed respect, the perils of moving up a weight class, what turned his career around, and how he’s celebrating his flyweight title win following a big night at BTC 6.
Burlington, ON — “It’s incredible, man. Pinch me.” That’s how Lindsay, Ontario’s James Clarke described the feeling of having won the BTC flyweight championship on Saturday night. Clarke, who had predicted a quick finish of opponent Dave Henry, wound up going to full five rounds. It was a fight heavy on the grappling, with plenty of scrambles and submissions.
Post-fight, Clarke spoke to Cageside Press about the win, and where he goes from here.
Reflecting on the fight, the new champion said that it was the third round when he realized Henry might take him the distance. “In the third round, right near the end, I was like ‘just f*cking tap, Dave, just tap, just do it!’ As I said it, I remembered actually at the weigh ins — I hate cutting more weight than I have to. Mentally, it f*cks with my head a little.”
At the weigh-ins for BTC 6, Clarke was actually sipping a drink, because he’d cut too much. Going further than he had to cutting weight was akin to going further than he had to in the fight. But in both areas, he got the job done. Which was evident from the belt on his shoulder, and the trophy that stood as tall as he did.
After a successful amateur career, Clarke hit some speed bumps after turning pro, including a failed trip to bantamweight. However, he’s turned it around, having now won three straight bouts, and a title. The turning point, Clarke said, was “me and my dad, we quit smoking cigarettes two years ago.”
It’s actually what landed him on the radar of many fight fans. “I went my whole amateur career, I quit smoking for six weeks, I made my famous debut speech for TKO. I was almost more known for that speech a little bit, ‘just quit smoking six weeks ago bitches,’ everybody kind of knew me for saying that on UFC Fight Pass. Even UFC shared it on Twitter. I had to go and get Twitter again, I hadn’t had it since high school because my ex-girlfriend, I didn’t trust that bitch.”
After that little bit of viral fame, Clarke said, “I had tough guys, all three of them, the last fight, moving up to bantamweight. I learned a thing or two, lesson or two at bantamweight. Flyweight’s where I belong.”
“This is the third consecutive win in a row since I lost that bantamweight fight. No excuses. The level of opponents have always been there. It’s just things like quitting smoking, quit smoking cigarettes,” he said as to what factored into his success. “I still smoke a little green, but hey man, it’s Canada, the whole country just became legal.” No USADA to worry about in BTC, either.
Comments like that are par for the course with James Clarke. “I got all kinds of personality just oozing. I’m excited to put on another show at BTC, I think they’re going to have me back right shortly.” It’s likely they will, as Clarke revealed he had recently signed a new three fight deal with the Ontario-based promotion. “They’ve taken care of me to this point, but I expect nothing less.”
Earlier in the night, Clarke had mentioned a second title, saying that even if he won a second belt, he’d stay humble. Don’t read too much into it, however. “By that expression there, ‘even if I win two belts,’ I’m not going to say, whatever the f*ck McGregor said, ‘I’m going to apologize to absolutely no one.’ I might talk a little bit of sh*t leading up to the fight, show everyone that I got confidence just oozing, but after the fight’s over, I’ve got nothing but respect,” he explained. “I hate Conor McGregor, I’m way more of a Khabib fan, and I don’t even like Russians, they’re mean people to be honest. And I’m Irish, too.”
“I’m in it for the respect scene, you know,” Clarke added. “I don’t like guys like that, I never have liked McGregor. [In] the same sense, he’s got personality too, he sells it and stuff. But we’re different, you know. I’m not looking for double champ quite yet.”
And so a trip north to 135 again is unlikely. “I don’t think you’ll see me at bantamweight again, I think I’ll just scratch that right out. The next goal is UFC,” Clarke said. “Once I’m good enough, I’ll climb the ranks. I go beating Cejudo or Demetrious Johnson and there’s nobody left, yeah okay maybe I’ll test myself then. But there’s lots of competition at the flyweights, and getting my ass kicked at bantamweight has proven that to me.”
As for how Clarke plans on celebrating the win, it was again James being James. “Bitches. Bitches. Hey no I love women, I treat them all with respect too. But this belt is definitely going to get me laid, that’s for sure.”
Watch the full BTC 6 post-fight interview with James Clarke above.
