An unbeaten 25-year-old makes his UFC debut Wednesday after a rise to fame that mirrors Conor McGregor's

• Mason Jones makes his UFC debut Wednesday, after leaving feeder league Cage Warriors as a simultaneous two-weight champion.
• Though Jones is the first athlete since Conor McGregor to enter the UFC with that distinction, he is eager to forge his own legacy.
• Jones is a 25-year-old family man from a small village in the Welsh mountains and says his role model in life is his girlfriend, Maddison Davies, who he says is also his toughest critic.
• She's a taekwondo player and gives him advice on how to throw kicks, and if he wins by knockout with a kick midweek on Fight Island, he'll know who to thank.

FIGHT ISLAND - In September 2020, Mason Jones, an unbeaten 25-year-old fighter from the Welsh mountains, reached the summit of mixed martial arts in northern Europe.

For his first-round knockout against Adam Proctor that month, Jones added the Cage Warriors welterweight championship to the lightweight title he won earlier in the year.

As he wrapped one belt around each of his shoulders, Jones became the first athlete to reign as a simultaneous two-weight titleholder since Conor McGregor - who went on to become the UFC's marquee name.

2020 was a remarkable year for Jones because, despite the pandemic, he competed twice behind-closed-doors and grew into one of Britain's most accomplished fighters to yet compete in the UFC.

Celebrations, though, were somewhat muted. There was no roaring crowd to jump into, and few people to celebrate with.

He went backstage at the BEC Arena, checked his phone, and then, with his brow still sweating from the adrenaline and euphoria of winning another championship, he got the bus to a hotel in Manchester, England.

Jones may well have felt alone had it not been for his family waiting to greet him with a banner that read, "Congrats to the champ-champ!" - as those who knew him best believe he's the ass-kicker he's always proclaimed to be.

Jones is from a hillside town called Blaenavon, historically known for its mining, steelworks, and centuries-old churches.

Now, it's known for producing a fighter.

Blaenavon has a tiny population of 6,000. Everyone knows everyone. And so word gets around quickly when someone like Jones becomes successful.

In normal times, Jones would have taken the belts for a tour through the village, returning to the local school he grew up in, to inspire the next generation of Welsh children.

But COVID regulations ruled that out.

A post shared by Mason Jones (@masonjones95)

One month later he announced the news he had been fighting for for his whole career - he had signed a four-fight deal with the UFC.

On Wednesday, at the newly-built Etihad Arena on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, Jones fights for the first time with UFC-branding on his shorts.

"Look where I am," Jones told Insider as he walked around the perimeter of the five-star W Hotel, cupping his hand over his eyes as the sun beat 80 degree heat onto an athlete who is used to "cold feet" from snowy peaks.

"I always wanted to fight on one of the Fight Island cards when they got announced," he said. "Jet off to an island, fight, and get paid well for it.

"I'm making my debut on one of the biggest cards you can have. It's a brilliant start, and I want to make a performance that will be remembered."

The Welsh mountains are a surprising hotbed for MMA fighters

Places like Las Vegas, Saitama, and Rio de Janeiro may be synonymous with elite MMA, but if you speak to Mason Jones, he'll happily tell you that it should be no surprise that small towns in Wales have become fighting hotbeds.

"Wales is full of mountains, it rains a lot, and it's just full of tough people," he told us.

"My family were fighters, my family's family were fighters and miners, and that's the way they've always been. My friends … we grew up fighting. I was always up for a scrap.

"We're like that as a people, fight one minute and be mates the next. It's all just fun and games."

As a kid, Jones loved running around and fighting people, regardless of whether that was with his fists or plastic swords. To channel that energy positively, his parents signed him up to kickboxing classes aged seven.

From there, martial arts became a way for him to express himself.

And he's not alone as a blue-chip fighting prospect from Wales.

When he's at home he travels to nearby Abertillery to train with Jack Shore - who has been compared to Georges St. Pierre - and Bellator MMA athlete Brett Johns, who he grew up playing judo with.

"It just builds hard, tough, people. And there's many more unbelievable teenagers coming through," said Jones.

Jones' girlfriend is his role model, and his toughest critic

A post shared by Mason Jones (@masonjones95)

Making his family proud is one of Jones' biggest motivations in life. He speaks favorably of his parents, his upbringing, and was eager to shout out his girlfriend Maddison Davies - his role model … and toughest critic.

"She fought at Olympic level in taekwondo," said Jones. "She won a Commonwealth Games medal, she won Olympic qualifiers, and has been doing Olympic sports for a long time."

Jones said Davies has been awaiting a debut in Thai boxing, and knows how to successfully take a limb and whack somebody around the head with it.

"She kicks so much better than me, and is a massive critic of my kicking," he said.

"Any mistake I make she rips me for it, but she's helped my kicking game so much and you'll see that a lot in this fight, as my kicking is starting to take prominence.

"My father is also a massive influence, talking to me about the mind games and how elite you have to be to make it in this world and in the UFC.

"UFC has maybe 500 rostered fighters in a population of billions. It's a tiny percent and we have to be the best in that tiny percent. And to be No.1 is such a massive thing. But it's something I set my sights on and will do."

Jones wants to shake off McGregor comparisons and forge his own name as a fire-breathing dragon

McGregor entered the UFC with a reputation as a feared striker, but for Jones, he enters the world's leading promotion as a mixed martial artist.

He's unbeaten in 10 fights, winning in a variety of ways including kimura submission, rear-naked choke, knees, punches, and decision.

"I love jiu jitsu, wrestling, striking … I love all of it. I love exciting fights and I just go out there looking to dominate," Jones said.

He's also unfazed at making his UFC debut with the same accolades as McGregor, as a simultaneous two-weight Cage Warriors champion.

"I'm just going to be Mason Jones, do what I do, and dismantle everyone. In the coming years, you'll see I had an unbelievable rise tearing through the UFC. That's what I've set my sights on. I thrive in this environment."

"You'll see … I'm going to be a tyrant. I'm taking everything I want."

Jones competes against skilled American Muay Thai fighter Mike Davis. But despite Davis' credentials, Jones is confident of a successful UFC debut.

"He's a dangerous striker, he has powerful hands, and he hits hard. He runs triathlons so he's very fit and his cardio game is second-to-none.

"His last two fights, he lost to Gilbert Burns and beat Thomas Gifford but did well in both those fights. He's got dangerous jiu jitsu. He's got very good wrestling even in the loss against Sodiq Yusuff. Yusuff just had better tactics.

"I'll do me, though," Jones said. "I'll just pick him up and hurt him regardless of whether I submit him or finish him standing. It doesn't matter.

"I'm a beast in my own right and people just don't understand who I am at the moment."

After Wednesday, people may well have a better idea.

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