What's Next for Roan Crocker?

What’s Next for Roan Crocker?

Roan Crocker is a name you will have seen a lot of over the past year or so. It’s a name you’re going to continue to see over the next few years. He is, arguably, the best amateur middleweight in the country.

Victory at CW142

At Cage Warriors 142 last weekend, Crocker headlined the amateur portion of the card in front of a home Welsh crowd. He defended his belt for the second time and took his win streak to six.

In what was probably his toughest fight in recent years, the 22-year-old finished challenger James Wamsley with a round-three rear-naked choke. After the fight, the defending champion acknowledged the toughness of his opponent.

“I’m happy to get the win. It was a tough and a tough fight. Probably one of the evenest fights I’ve had in recent times. Usually, it’s a whitewash. So, credit to James, he gave me a good test, but a test I feel I passed with flying colours.”

Just a short seven weeks ago, Roan cemented his incredible amateur status by winning gold at the Four Nations Championships. Therefore, confidence is currently at an all-time high.

After defeating everyone that has been put in front of him over the past year, what’s next for the Shore MMA middleweight prospect?

What’s Next?

After his fight last Saturday, we asked Roan what was next after he showed the level he is currently at. Is it time to make the switch to pro-fighting?

“No. There are IMMAFs out there. There’s a whole world of amateur competitions out there that I haven’t been able to tap into. Fighting boys in the UK is a common mistake that a lot of these pros will run into. The fight boys in the UK, they’ll be the best in the UK, but they never go abroad to fight, and they get found out then.

“If you wanna look at a good example, I always use the same example, but Christian Duncan, everybody was always asking him ‘when are you going to go pro?’, he said no, I’m going to go to the IMMAFs, he picked up a bit more experience out there, and now he’s gone pro when he was ready when he wanted to and look what he’s done. Six fights a title, and look what he’s done.

“You can’t rush this process. I’m twenty-two. I plan to be in this sport for another fifteen-plus years if I can. There’s a long road ahead of me. I only started training when I was sixteen. I haven’t been doing martial arts since I was four or five. So, I’ve got to get some more experience against these top-level boys. Then, once I’m ready, I’ll turn pro on my own terms.”

With all this in mind, we can certainly expect to see this growing star turn pro, but only when he is ready. He intends to pick up some more international experience and test himself against the best. And then, when he is ready, and only then, he’ll be welcomed onto the pro scene.