ATT's Lindsey Jones pumped for 1st main event scrap

NASHVILLE (Sun, March 18, 2018)– Top welterweight prospect Lindsey “Sweet Tea” Jones tries to improve to 4-0, and win a Valor Fights title shot, against Robert Hale in the main event of Valor Fights 48 on March 31 in Nashville. Before that, he caught up with FightBookMMA.

If you had to sum up 2017 in one word, what would that word be?

“Exciting.” It was an exciting year for my career. I had a great knockout finish in April and then I had a submission victory in July. Both of those were exciting finishes and I think they helped push my career that much further forward.

Were you hoping to fight more than twice in 2017?

I was. Towards the end of 2017, I was supposed to fight for a promotion called Battlegrounds in West Palm Beach. They had some problems with the promotion and they couldn’t put the event on. It was pushed back from August to September to October. It was a long time to prepare for one event that didn’t happen. That last part of the year was a total scratch for fights.

How many times would you like to fight this year?

Two to three, to be honest. I want to get an ample amount of training in between fights. I think some guys fight all of the time and their skillset won’t match the amount of fights they’ve had. They may have ten fights in one year, but how much improvement have they made in that year? I want to have a good ratio of training and improving to fighting and I think two to three times a year will give me the correct amount of time.

How do you think your skill level matches up against other fighters who are 3-0?

I think it matches up well. The thing about being down here at American Top Team is we have high quality coaches and training partners, so the 3-0 guys you see down here are much different from the 3-0 guys you may see in Kentucky, for instance. There’s a different skillset there. As far as guys from the super camps, I match up well with the other 3-0 fighters.

Who are your biggest training partners these days?

I‘ve been fortunate enough to be a part of Thiago Alves’ past couple of camps. He had Curtis Mills fight a little while back and I’ve been helping him a lot. Anyone really at 170 at ATT, I train with. I’m really working with everybody.

Is this your first main event fight?